@article{MorlockSubramanianZounietal.2023, author = {Morlock, Sascha and Subramanian, Senthil Kumar and Zouni, Athina and Lisdat, Fred}, title = {Closing the green gap of photosystem I with synthetic fluorophores for enhanced photocurrent generation in photobiocathodes}, series = {Chemical Science}, volume = {14}, journal = {Chemical Science}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-17022}, pages = {1696 -- 1708}, year = {2023}, abstract = {One restriction for biohybrid photovoltaics is the limited conversion of green light by most natural photoactive components. The present study aims to fill the green gap of photosystem I (PSI) with covalently linked fluorophores, ATTO 590 and ATTO 532. Photobiocathodes are prepared by combining a 20 μm thick 3D indium tin oxide (ITO) structure with these constructs to enhance the photocurrent density compared to setups based on native PSI. To this end, two electron transfer mechanisms, with and without a mediator, are studied to evaluate differences in the behavior of the constructs. Wavelength-dependent measurements confirm the influence of the additional fluorophores on the photocurrent. The performance is significantly increased for all modifications compared to native PSI when cytochrome c is present as a redox-mediator. The photocurrent almost doubles from -32.5 to up to -60.9 μA cm-2. For mediator-less photobiocathodes, interestingly, drastic differences appear between the constructs made with various dyes. While the turnover frequency (TOF) is doubled to 10 e-/PSI/s for PSI-ATTO590 on the 3D ITO compared to the reference specimen, the photocurrents are slightly smaller since the PSI-ATTO590 coverage is low. In contrast, the PSI-ATTO532 construct performs exceptionally well. The TOF increases to 31 e-/PSI/s, and a photocurrent of -47.0 μA cm-2 is obtained. This current is a factor of 6 better than the reference made with native PSI in direct electron transfer mode and sets a new record for mediator-free photobioelectrodes combining 3D electrode structures and light-converting biocomponents.}, language = {en} } @article{MorlockSubramanianZounietal.2022, author = {Morlock, Sascha and Subramanian, Senthil Kumar and Zouni, Athina and Lisdat, Fred}, title = {Bio-inorganic hybrid structures for direct electron transfer to photosystem I in photobioelectrodes}, series = {Biosensors and Bioelectronics}, volume = {204}, journal = {Biosensors and Bioelectronics}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1873-4235}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-16770}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Synthetic materials can be combined with biological components in many ways. One example that provides scientists with multiple challenges is a photobioelectrode that converts sunlight into electrons in a biohybrid approach. In the present study several key parameters are evaluated concerning their influence on the direct electron transfer from a 3D indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode material to photosystem I (PSI) as a light-harvesting biomolecule. In contrast to previous investigations, no mediating molecule is added to shuttle the electrons to the luminal side of PSI. Thus, this setup is less complex than foregoing ones. The solution composition drastically influences the interaction of PSI with the ITO surface. Here, the application of higher buffer concentrations and the addition of salts are advantageous, whereas the nature of the buffer ions plays a minor role. The artificial electrode material's thickness is adjustable since a spin-coating procedure is used for preparation. With a 30 μm thick structure and immobilized PSI cathodic photocurrents up to 10.1 μA cm-2 are obtained at 100 mW cm-2 illumination intensity and an applied potential of -0.1V vs. Ag/AgCl. Over a period of three days the photobioelectrodes are illuminated for a total of 90 min and stored between the measurements at ambient temperature. The stability of the setup is noteworthy as still about 90\% of the photocurrent is retained. The photocathode described here offers many positive features, including a high onset potential for the photocurrent starting sligthly above the redox potentail of P700, and applicability in a wide pH range from pH 5 to 8.}, language = {en} } @article{MorlockSubramanianZounietal.2021, author = {Morlock, Sascha and Subramanian, Senthil Kumar and Zouni, Athina and Lisdat, Fred}, title = {Scalable Three-Dimensional Photobioelectrodes Made of Reduced Graphene Oxide Combined with Photosystem I}, series = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, volume = {13}, journal = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, number = {9}, publisher = {American Chemical Society (ACS)}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-16760}, pages = {11237 -- 11246}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Photobioelectrodes represent one of the examples where artificial materials are combined with biological entities to undertake semi-artificial photosynthesis. Here, an approach is described that uses reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as an electrode material. This classical 2D material is used to construct a three-dimensional structure by a template-based approach combined with a simple spin-coating process during preparation. Inspired by this novel material and photosystem I (PSI), a biophotovoltaic electrode is being designed and investigated. Both direct electron transfer to PSI and mediated electron transfer via cytochrome c from horse heart as redox protein can be confirmed. Electrode preparation and protein immobilization have been optimized. The performance can be upscaled by adjusting the thickness of the 3D electrode using different numbers of spin-coating steps during preparation. Thus, photocurrents up to ∼14 μA/cm2 are measured for 12 spin-coated layers of rGO corresponding to a turnover frequency of 30 e- PSI-1 s-1 and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.07\% at a thickness of about 15 μm. Operational stability has been analyzed for several days. Particularly, the performance at low illumination intensities is very promising (1.39 μA/cm2 at 0.1 mW/cm2 and -0.15 V vs Ag/AgCl; EQE 6.8\%).}, language = {en} } @article{KoelschRadonGolubetal.2020, author = {K{\"o}lsch, Adrian and Radon, C. and Golub, M. and Baumert, A. and B{\"u}rger, J{\"o}rg and Mielke, Thorsten and Lisdat, Fred and Feoktystov, Artem and Pieper, J{\"o}rg and Zouni, Athina and Wendler, Petra}, title = {Current limits of structural biology: The transient interaction between cytochrome c6 and photosystem I}, series = {Current Research in Structural Biology}, volume = {2}, journal = {Current Research in Structural Biology}, issn = {2665-928X}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-13628}, pages = {171 -- 179}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Trimeric photosystem I from the cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus (TePSI) is an intrinsic membrane protein, which converts solar energy into electrical energy by oxidizing the soluble redox mediator cytochrome c6 (Cyt c6) and reducing ferredoxin. Here, we use cryo-electron microscopy and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to characterize the transient binding of Cyt c6 to TePSI. The structure of TePSI cross-linked to Cyt c6 was solved at a resolution of 2.9 {\AA} and shows additional cofactors as well as side chain density for 84\% of the peptide chain of subunit PsaK, revealing a hydrophobic, membrane intrinsic loop that enables binding of associated proteins. Due to the poor binding specificity, Cyt c6 could not be localized with certainty in our cryo-EM analysis. SANS measurements confirm that Cyt c6 does not bind to TePSI at protein concentrations comparable to those for cross-linking. However, SANS data indicate a complex formation between TePSI and the non-native mitochondrial cytochrome from horse heart (Cyt cHH). Our study pinpoints the difficulty of identifying very small binding partners (less than 5\% of the overall size) in EM structures when binding affinities are poor. We relate our results to well resolved co-structures with known binding affinities and recommend confirmatory methods for complexes with KM values higher than 20 μM.}, language = {en} } @misc{StiegerFeifelLoksteinetal.2018, author = {Stieger, Kai Ralf and Feifel, Sven Christian and Lokstein, Heiko and Hejazi, Mahdi and Zouni, Athina and Lisdat, Fred}, title = {Biohybride Architekturen f{\"u}r eine effiziente Umwandlung von Licht in elektrische Energie durch Integration von Photosystem I in skalierbare mesopor{\"o}se 3D Elektroden}, series = {Wissenschaftliche Beitr{\"a}ge 2018}, volume = {22}, journal = {Wissenschaftliche Beitr{\"a}ge 2018}, issn = {0949-8214}, doi = {10.15771/0949-8214_2018_2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-10220}, pages = {17 -- 24}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Die Kombination von fortschrittlichen Materialien und kontrolliertem Oberfl{\"a}chendesign mit komplexen Proteinen aus der nat{\"u}rlichen Photosynthese ist derzeit eines der Hauptthemen bei der Entwicklung von Biohybridsystemen und Biophotovoltaik. In dieser Studie werden transparente makropor{\"o}se Indium-Zinn-Oxid-(μITO-) Elektroden mit dem trimeren Superkomplex Photosystem I (PSI) aus dem Cyanobakterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus sowie dem kleinen Redoxprotein Cytochrom c (Cyt c) kombiniert, um neuartige und effiziente biohybride Photokathoden herzustellen. Mit diesen bis zu 40 μm hohen 3D-Strukturen k{\"o}nnen beide Proteine in einer ann{\"a}hernden Monolage abgeschieden werden und die elektrische Kommunikation mit der Elektrode kann erzielt werden. Der generierte Photostrom folgt dabei linear der kontrollierbaren Schichtdicke der μITO-Elektrode, wobei Stromdichten von bis zu 150 μA cm -2 erhalten werden. Eine effiziente elektrische Kopplung der Proteine kann durch die hohe interne Quanteneffizienz von 30 \% gezeigt werden.}, language = {de} } @article{KoelschHejaziStiegeretal.2018, author = {K{\"o}lsch, Adrian and Hejazi, Mahdi and Stieger, Kai Ralf and Feifel, Sven Christian and Kern, Jan F. and M{\"u}h, Frank and Lisdat, Fred and Lokstein, Heiko and Zouni, Athina}, title = {Insights into the binding behavior of native and non-native cytochromes to photosystem I from Thermosynechococcus elongatus}, series = {Journal of Biological Chemistry}, volume = {293}, journal = {Journal of Biological Chemistry}, number = {23}, issn = {1083-351X}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:526-opus4-12780}, pages = {9090 -- 9100}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The binding of photosystem I (PS I) from Thermosynechococcus elongatus to the native cytochrome (cyt) c6 and cyt c from horse heart (cyt cHH) was analyzed by oxygen consumption measurements, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and rigid body docking combined with electrostatic computations of binding energies. Although PS I has a higher affinity for cyt cHH than for cyt c6, the influence of ionic strength and pH on binding is different in the two cases. ITC and theoretical computations revealed the existence of unspecific binding sites for cyt cHH besides one specific binding site close to P700. Binding to PS I was found to be the same for reduced and oxidized cyt cHH. Based on this information, suitable conditions for cocrystallization of cyt cHH with PS I were found, resulting in crystals with a PS I:cyt cHH ratio of 1:1. A crystal structure at 3.4-{\AA} resolution was obtained, but cyt cHH cannot be identified in the electron density map because of unspecific binding sites and/or high flexibility at the specific binding site. Modeling the binding of cyt c6 to PS I revealed a specific binding site where the distance and orientation of cyt c6 relative to P700 are comparable with cyt c2 from purple bacteria relative to P870. This work provides new insights into the binding modes of different cytochromes to PS I, thus facilitating steps toward solving the PS I-cyt c costructure and a more detailed understanding of natural electron transport processes.}, language = {en} }