Collaborative Research: Artificial Photosynthesis Based on Archaeal Lipids and Proteins for Biofuels

Principal Investigator: Parkson Chong

Number: 1437930

The goal of this project is to develop an artificial photosynthesis device to ultimately enable the production of fermentable sugars directly from carbon dioxide and sunlight. These sugars would serve as the renewable feedstock for biofuels production. The concept of reconstituting light harvesting proteins and energy conversion enzymes of photosynthesis into lipid membranes for light driven synthesis of chemical energy carriers required to make sugars from carbon dioxide has been known for many years. However, the low energy conversion efficiency and poor long term stability have hindered further development of this approach. This project will make new artificial photosynthesis devices using novel biomaterials with much improved long-term stability and energy conversion efficiency. The research activities will also provide multidisciplinary project for training graduate and undergraduate students. This is a collaborative project between Temple University, North Carolina State University, and Drexel University.

Technical Description

The goal of this project is to develop an artificial photosynthesis platform that uses bipolar tetra-ether lipids and membrane proteins isolated from thermoacidophilic archaea.integrated into a microfluidic device. The research will study the biochemical and biophysical properties of this artificial photosynthesis platform, and develop a microfluidic device that will serve as a tool to design, fabricate, and evaluate a potentially efficient and durable membrane-based artificial photosynthesis system. This system would support the development of a process that would be capable of converting sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into carbohydrates for the production of biofuels. The polar lipid fraction E isolated from the archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius will be used as the membrane matrix. These lipids are extremely stable and non-toxic. An ATP synthase will also be isolated from the same thermoacidophile, which is intended to provide stability to the reconstituted protein membrane system and enhance the overall yield of ATP synthesis. Microfluidic chips will be developed to accommodate the bacteriorhodopsin/ATP synthase/archaeal lipid membrane system. The proton pumping efficiency of bacteriorhodopsin in archaeal lipid planar membranes, the ATP synthesis efficiency of the system, and the carbon-fixation efficiency from ATP to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate will be individually measured to assess the performance of the artificial photosynthesis platform. The research activities will also provide multidisciplinary project for training graduate and undergraduate students.