Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
Chem Soc Rev. 2014 Sep 21;43(18):6485-97. doi: 10.1039/c4cs00031e.
Photosynthesis is responsible for the sunlight-powered conversion of carbon dioxide and water into chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates and the release of O2 as a by-product. Although many proteins are involved in photosynthesis, the fascinating machinery of Photosystem II (PSII) is at the heart of this process. This tutorial review describes an emerging technique named protein film photoelectrochemistry (PF-PEC), which allows for the light-dependent activity of PSII adsorbed onto an electrode surface to be studied. The technique is straightforward to use, does not require highly specialised and/or expensive equipment, is highly selective for the active fractions of the adsorbed enzyme, and requires a small amount of enzyme sample. The use of PF-PEC to study PSII can yield insights into its activity, stability, quantum yields, redox behaviour, and interfacial electron transfer pathways. It can also be used in PSII inhibition studies and chemical screening, which may prove useful in the development of biosensors. PSII PF-PEC cells also serve as proof-of-principle solar water oxidation systems; here, a comparison is made against PSII-inspired synthetic photocatalysts and materials for artificial photosynthesis.
光合作用负责将二氧化碳和水在阳光的驱动下转化为碳水化合物等化学能，并释放 O2 作为副产物。虽然许多蛋白质都参与光合作用，但令人着迷的光系统 II（PSII）机器是这一过程的核心。本教程综述介绍了一种新兴技术，名为蛋白膜光电化学（PF-PEC），它可以研究吸附在电极表面上的 PSII 的光依赖性活性。该技术使用简单，不需要高度专业化和/或昂贵的设备，对吸附酶的活性部分具有高度选择性，并且只需要少量的酶样品。使用 PF-PEC 研究 PSII 可以深入了解其活性、稳定性、量子产率、氧化还原行为和界面电子转移途径。它还可用于 PSII 抑制研究和化学筛选，这可能对生物传感器的发展有用。PSII PF-PEC 电池也可用作太阳能水氧化系统的原理验证；在这里，与受 PSII 启发的合成光催化剂和人工光合作用材料进行了比较。
