納米科學家將菠菜中得到的葉綠素a分子轉換為復雜的構型（biological switch）,，預計將來有可能應用于綠色能源和醫(yī)藥開發(fā),。
葉綠素a（chloropyhll-a）是光合作用中的一種主要成分。俄亥俄州大學物理學家Saw-Wai Hla和 Violeta Iancu在9月6日PNAS發(fā)表文章說：利用掃描隧道顯微鏡（scanning tunneling microscope）操作菠菜中葉綠素a分子,，得到這種分子的四種構型,，首次詳細描述葉綠素a（chloropyhll-a）的精細圖像。
研究人員利用掃描隧道顯微鏡對葉綠素a成像,，然后向分子中注射一個電子使分子能夠在從直到彎四種階段中位置之間變換構象,。盡管以前俄亥俄州大學研究小組和其他研究小組掃描隧道顯微鏡創(chuàng)造了兩步分子構型，但是新實驗在目前最大的有機分子上利用得到了更為復雜的多步開關,。
因為分子和蛋白構型決定生物學功能,，因此這項工作能夠迅速投入基礎科學研究,。而且為研制納米級邏輯電路或者未來醫(yī)學、計算機技術,、綠色能源軟件的
( 生物谷配圖)
更多生物圖片請進入
動力開關提供了新的思路。
物理學副教授Hla說：“弄清葉綠素a分子有助于解決生命起源和太陽能轉換等問題,。”研究受到俄亥俄州大學納米生物學技術實驗室和美國能源部資助,。
英文原文：
Nanoscientists Create Biological Switch from Spinach Molecule
ATHENS, Ohio – Nanoscientists have transformed a molecule of chlorophyll-a from spinach into a complex biological switch that has possible future applications for green energy, technology and medicine.
The study offers the first detailed image of chloropyhll-a – the main ingredient in the photosynthesis process – and shows how scientists can use new technology to manipulate the configuration of the spinach molecule in four different arrangements, report Ohio University physicists Saw-Wai Hla and Violeta Iancu in today’s early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The scientists used a scanning tunneling microscope to image chlorophyll-a and then injected it with a single electron to manipulate the molecule into four positions, ranging from straight to curved, at varying speeds.Though the Ohio University team and others have created two-step molecule switches using scanning tunneling microscope manipulation in the past, the new experiment yields a more complex multi-step switch on the largest organic molecule to date.
The work has immediate implications for basic science research, as the configuration of molecules and proteins impacts biological functions. The study also suggests a novel route for creating nanoscale logic circuits or mechanical switches for future medical, computer technology or green energy applications, said Hla, an associate professor of physics.
“It’s important to understand something about the chlorophyll-a molecule for origin of life and solar energy conversion issues,” he said.
The study was funded by Ohio University’s Nanobiotechnology Initiative and the U.S. Department of Energy. Hla is a member of the university’s Quantitative Biology Institute and Nanoscale & Quantum Phenomena Institute. Iancu is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
