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Time‐resolved electron spin echo spectroscopy applied to the study of photosynthesis
Author(s) -
Thurnauer M.C.,
Bowman M.K.,
Norris J.R.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(79)80358-0
Subject(s) - national laboratory , library science , chemistry , physics , engineering physics , computer science
A recent development in the research of photosynthesis has been the application of fast time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) [l-4]. The EPR method is particularly promising for systems which cannot readily be studied by optical techniques. The radicals which have been observed in photosynthetic systems by the magnetic resonance technique exhibit chemically-induced dynamic electron polarization (CIDEP) [5]. The mechanism which produces this spin polarization (a non-Boltzmann distribution of spin population) reflects the earlier fate of the radicals. The reported studies of photosynthetic systems by time resolved magnetic resonance have utilized what are now fairly standard EPR techniques [6]. They have been limited by lack of adequate time resolution, possible distortions or artifacts due to the use of magnetic field modulation [3,7], and the problem of positively identifying the observed radical species. We are applying time-resolved electron spin echo (ESE) spectroscopy, a pulsed form of EPR, to the study of photosynthetic systems. This new technique not only avoids many of the problems described above but also provides several new advantages. We report here on the first observation of spin-polarized signals in the blue-green alga Synechococcus Zividus using timeresolved ESE, and illustrate advantages of the technique.