Quantum nano-structures are likely to become primary elements of future devices. However, there are a number of significant scientific challenges to real world applications of quantum devices. These include de-coherence that erodes operation of a quantum device and control issues. In nature, certain processes have been shown to use quantum mechanical processes for overcoming these barriers. One...

We used an indirect immunofluorescence technique to permit the identification and enumeration of individual or closely related strains of chroococcoid cyanobacteria of the general Synechococcus and Synechocystis in natural seawater samples. Antisera directed against each of five strains (two phycoerythrin-containing Synechococcus strains, two phycocyanin-containing Synechococcus strains, and on...

This article presents an investigation of the energy migration dynamics in intact cells of the unicellular photosynthetic cryptophyte Chroomonas CCMP270 by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. By kinetic modeling of the fluorescence data on chlorophyll and phycocyanin 645 excitation (at 400 and 582 nm respectively), it has been possible to show the excited state energy dist...

The phycobilin pigments are intensively fluorescence and water soluble. They are categorized into three types: pigments containing high energies (phycoerythrins), intermediate energies (phycocyanins), and low energies (allophycocyanins). Among them, crude-phycocyanin (c-pc) has been considered to be the most preferred one. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antibacterial activity ...

Fluorescence and initiation of photoreactions are problems frequently encountered with resonance Raman spectroscopy of photobiological systems. These problems can be circumvented with Fourier-transform Raman spectroscopy by using the 1064-nm wavelength of a continuous wave neodymium-yttrium/aluminum-garnet laser as the probing beam. This wavelength is far from the absorption band of most pigmen...

Light transducing phycobiliproteins are encapsulated in optically transparent sol-gel matrices. Absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies are used to characterize the effect of the sol-gel encapsulation on the conformation and aggregation states of the three major phycobiliproteins present in phycobilisomes: phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin. It is found that the effects of sol-g...

Spirulina platensis is a high protein content cyanobacterium with known therapeutic properties. Its main protein Phycocyanin is currently as a functional ingredient into various food products to enhance their nutritional qualities acting as food colorant, antioxidant and emulsifier, reducing the use of synthetic additives. The post-harvest treatment of the microalga affects its content of prote...

Bilin Conformation, Phycocyanin, Phycoerythrin, Phytochrome Ramachandran-type calculations are performed for conformations of bilin chromophores pres­ ent in the biliproteins phycocyanin, phycoerythrin and phytochrome. The atomic coordinates are taken from x-ray data of crystalline model compounds, namely biliverdin for pyrrole rings B, C, D and substituted succinimides for the hydrogenated rin...

R-phycocyanin was purified from two independent isolates of the unicellular red alga Porphyridium cruentum. At pH 7.0 the protein sediments as a single component with s 20,w of 5.98 S (at 2 mg/ml, gamma/2=0.02). Over a protein concentration range of 0.2 to 0.5 mg/ml (gamma/2=0.16), sedimentation equilibrium gave a molecular weight of 103,000 +/- 6,000 with no evidence of heterogeneity. In commo...