Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026

Proton Transfer and Protein Conformation Dynamics in Photosensitive Proteins by Time-resolved Step-scan Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: June 27, 2014
Properties of the electrogenic activity of bacteriorhodopsin
Shizuma Miyazaki1, Makoto Matsumoto, Søren Bo Brier
1Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo 112-8551, Japan.
Abstract:
In this study, we analyzed the photoelectric current generated by bacteriorhodopsin adsorbed on a polymer film, "Lumirror" (Muneyuki et al. in FEBS Lett 427:109-114, 1998). We could examine the photoelectric current over a wide range of light intensity and pH values using the same membrane owing to the mechanical and chemical stability of the thin polymer film. We analyzed the photoelectric current by comparison with a simple equivalent electric circuit. Analysis of experimental results obtained at different light intensities suggested that the electromotive force of the bacteriorhodopsin was independent of light intensity. The pH dependence of the photoelectric current suggested that the bacteriorhodopsin could generate a maximum electromotive force at approximately pH 6.
Related Concept Videos
Channel Rhodopsins
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
Anoxygenic Photosynthesis
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory organs,...
The Photochemical Reaction Center
Electron Transport Chain Components

