Research and Teaching Interests Our research interests focus on the design and assembly of bio-inspired constructs for solar energy conversion, catalysis and signal transduction. The incorporation of artificial antennas and reaction centers into model biological membranes to make solar energized membranes is one of the first steps towards assembling nanoscale devices capable of carrying out human-directed work. It is our sense that the promise and excitement in nanoscale science and technology are predicated on paradigms taken from biology for molecular-scale motors, pumps, signal amplifiers, etc. These devices from biology are powered by proton motive force (pmf) or the thermodynamic equivalent of pmf, ATP. On the other hand, most of the devices we have come to appreciate (and expect) from the human-made world are powered by electromotive force. The membrane potential associated with energized membranes is the common denominator between the energy transducers of biology and their counterparts in the human-made world. Broadly, our research aims to explore this connection and use it to establish links between the systems and thereby determine ways to couple electronic circuits and devices to nanoscale signals and energy transducers.
This idea can be elaborated in the field of signal processing/molecular sensors by imagining the design of hybrid devices which link silicon-based elements in an electrical circuit with biological receptors in which molecular recognition provides exquisite specificity at near single molecule sensitivity. In such a device, biological amplifiers (e.g., a G-protein cascade) powered by pmf would provide initial amplification of the signal resulting from the binding of a target ligand by a membrane-linked receptor. The amplified output signal would then be coupled to more conventional circuits for measurement and analysis. In other words, the information/signal at the biological level (ligand recognition and binding) would be amplified using biological amplifiers, the output of which is then translated into an electrical signal for conventional electronic processing. Photosynthetic organisms provide myriad examples of catalysis including several essential redox ones that operate with essentially no over potential. These include the most efficient 4-electron catalyst known for the oxidation of water to yield oxygen and protons. In combination with the biological catalyst for oxygen reduction, found in photosynthetic and all oxygenic organisms, and enzymes for hydrogen production by proton reduction, nature has provided the basic paradigms for fuel cell operation. It is a major goal of our work in artificial photosynthesis to link redox- and pmf-generating constructs to these catalysts in order to enhance our understanding of energy flow in biological systems and to provide energy transduction to meet human needs.
Sotomura, T.A. Moore, A.L. Moore and D. Gust,J. Phys. Chem.B 107, 10252-10260 (2003). |
Publications
"Towards molecular logic and artificial photosynthesis," Gust, D.; Moore, A. L.; Moore, T. A, in Proceedings of the 2007 Solvay Conference on Chemistry Sauvage, J.-P. Ed., Wiley-VCH, in press (2009)
"Artificial photosynthesis: Progress and promise," Gust, D.; Moore, A. L.; Moore, T. A, in Ciamician, Profeta dell'Energia Solare Venturi, M. Ed., Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Bologna 187-208 (2009)
"Biology and Technology for Photochemical Fuel Production," M. Hambourger, G. F. Moore, D. M. Kramer, D. Gust, A. L. Moore, and T. A. Moore, Chem. Soc. Rev 38 25-35 (2009)
"Photoassisted overall water splitting in a visible light-absorbing dye sensitized photoelectrochemical cell," Youngblood, W. J.; Lee, S.-H. A.; Kobayashi, Y.; Hernandez-Pagan, E. A.; Hoertz, P. G.; Moore, T. A.; Moore, A. L.; Gust, D.; Mallouk T. E., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131 926-929 (2009)
"All-Photonic Molecular Keypad Lock," J.; Straight, S. D.; Moore, T. A.; Moore, A. L.; Gust, D., Chem. Eur. J. 15 3936-3939 (2009)
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