The efficient mechanism of light capture by photosynthetic proteins allows for energy transfer and conversion to electrochemical energy at very low light intensities. In this work, reaction center (RC) proteins, or a core complex consisting of the RC encircled by light harvesting (LH1) proteins (RC-LH1) from photosynthetic bacteria, were immobilized on an insulating layer of an ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) to build bio-photodetectors. The orientation of the RC proteins was controlled via application of a hybrid linker made of 10-carboxydecylphosphonic acid and cytochrome c that anchored the RCs to their electron donor side. Bio-phototransistors consisting of either the core RC or the RC-LH1 core complex were tested under white and monochromic light. The difference between the dark and light currents at different wavelengths are well-matched with the absorption spectrum of the photosynthetic proteins. The results show potential for the use of photosynthetic proteins in photodetectors.

中文翻译：

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固定化光合蛋白的生物光电晶体管

通过光合蛋白捕获光的有效机制允许在非常低的光强度下进行能量转移和转化为电化学能。在这项工作中，反应中心（RC）蛋白或由光合细菌的光收集（LH1）蛋白（RC-LH1）包围的RC组成的核心复合物被固定在离子敏感场效应的绝缘层上晶体管（ISFET）以构建生物光电探测器。RC蛋白的方向是通过应用由10-羧基癸基膦酸和细胞色素c组成的杂合接头来控制的将RC固定在其电子供体侧。在白色和单色光下测试了由核心RC或RC-LH1核心复合物组成的生物光电晶体管。不同波长的暗电流和亮电流之间的差异与光合作用蛋白的吸收光谱完全匹配。结果显示在光检测器中使用光合蛋白的潜力。