Electrical-to-Mechanical Coupling in Purple Membranes: Membrane as Electrostrictive Medium

Nanoscale electrical conductivity of the purple membrane monolayer.

Nanoscale electron transport through the purple membrane monolayer, a two-dimensional crystal lattice of the transmembrane protein bacteriorhodopsin, is studied by conductive atomic force microscopy. We demonstrate that the purple membrane exhibits nonresonant tunneling transport, with two characteristic tunneling regimes depending on the applied voltage (direct and Fowler-Nordheim). Our result...

Experimental design applied to fabrication of PSf membranes via NIPS method Part1: Influential parameters on membrane porosity and mechanical strength

Following single antibody binding to purple membranes in real time.

Antibody binding to surface antigens in membranes is the primary event in the specific immune defence of vertebrates. Here we used force microscopy to study the dynamics of antibody recognition of mutant purple membranes from Halobacterium salinarum containing a genetically appended anti-Sendai recognition epitope. Ligation of individual anti-Sendai antibodies to their antigenic epitopes was ob...

Slow modes of polarization in purple membranes

The polarization of bacteriorhodopsin discs has been characterized by measurements of the electric dichroism induced by sinusoidal electric field pulses in the frequency range from 0.2 to 100 kHz with field strengths up to 40 kV m . Analysis of the stationary dichroism by a disk model with a saturating induced dipole moment in the direction of the plane shows saturation of the induced dipole at...

Deposition of Bacteriorhodopsin Protein in a Purple Membrane Form on Nitrocellulose Membranes for Enhanced Photoelectric Response

Bacteriorhodopsin protein (bR)-based systems are one of the simplest known biological energy converters. The robust chemical, thermal and electrochemical properties of bR have made it an attractive material for photoelectric devices. This study demonstrates the photoelectric response of a dry bR layer deposited on a nitrocellulose membrane with indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Light-induced e...