Scanning tunneling microscopy of photosynthetic reaction centers

Microscopy and single molecule detection in photosynthesis

Progress in various fields of microscopy techniques brought up enormous possibilities to study the photosynthesis down to the level of individual pigment-protein complexes. The aim of this review is to present recent developments in the photosynthesis research obtained using such highly advanced techniques. Three areas of microscopy techniques covering optical microscopy, electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy are reviewed. Whereas the electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy are used in photosynthesis mainly for structural studies of photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes, the optical microscopy is used also for functional studies.

Molecular handling of photosynthetic proteins for molecular assembly construction

Methods of constructing proteins were examined with special reference to the molecular assembly using photosynthetic RCs as membrane proteins. Molecular assemblies at the interfaces were studied by LB films, adsorption to the surface and reconstitution into liposomes and bilayer lipid membranes. The applications of biological specific ligands (recognition and binding), combinatorial chemical method, 2-D and 3-D order array assemblies and modification of protein molecules to make fusion proteins, as well as physical methods of manipulation of molecules by AFM tips and electric fields were reviewed.