New Photonic Materials from Genetically Engineered Bacteriorhodopsins

基因工程细菌视紫红质的新型光子材料。人们需要具有优异的光致变色、光电或非线性光学特性的光子材料。本研究将开发基于细菌视紫红质蛋白（BR）的新材料家族，BR是一种独特的生物材料，具有光敏、光电和非线性光学特性，需要用于器件应用（如全息记录膜、联想全息存储器、空间光调制器等）。为了充分发挥基于BR的器件的潜力，必须以适合快速分析和制造的规模生产突变BRs，并能够快速筛选这些突变BRs的重要光致变色特性（二次谐波产生）。从BR （bop）基因编码构建突变体将使用最近开发的表达系统。在这个系统中，突变BR是在它们的自然宿主中合成的，而不是像目前的习惯那样在大肠杆菌中合成。这种方法允许快速和方便的生产大量突变蛋白衍生的定点诱变。对BR变体的光致变色性能、光伏性能和非线性光学性能进行了评价。这项工作涉及三个不同领域的专家的密切合作：遗传学（Richard Needleman）。光化学（Janos Lanyi）和物理（George Rayfield）。一个强大的工业合作（Bend Research Inc, Bend Oregon）也是这个项目的一部分。我们需要比现有的人造产品对光有更好反应的材料。该研究将开发基于细菌视紫红质蛋白（BR）的新材料家族，BR是一种独特的生物材料，具有良好的光敏和光电特性，需要用于器件应用（如全息记录膜，联想全息存储器，空间光调制器等）。为了充分发挥基于BR的器件的潜力，必须以适合快速分析和制造的规模生产突变Brs，以筛选这些突变Brs的重要光致变色特性。从BR的基因编码中获得突变蛋白，将其插入到涉及自然宿主的细菌表达系统中；这种方法允许快速和方便的生产大量突变蛋白衍生的定点诱变。这些光敏蛋白的光电子特性将由具有三个不同领域专业知识的研究人员进行评估：遗传学、光化学和物理学。强有力的工业合作也是该计划的一部分。

New Photonic Material from Genetically Engineered Bacteriorhodopsin. There exists a need for photonic materials that have superior photochromic, photovoltaic, or nonlinear optical (NLO) characteristics. This research will develop a new family of materials based on the protein bacteriorhodopsin (BR), a unique biological material which has promising photochromic, photooltaic, and nonlinear optical properties needed for device application (e.g. holographic recording films, associative holographic memories, spatial light modulators, etc.). To fully realize the potential of devices based on BR one must produce mutant BRs at a scale suitable for rapid analysis and fabrication and be able to screen these mutant Brs rapidly for important photochromic properties (second harmonic generation). Mutants construction from the gene coding for BR (bop) will use an expression system which has recently been developed. In this system mutant BR's are synthesized in their natural host and not in E. coli as is currently the custom. This method allows the rapid and facile production of large quantities of mutant proteins derived by site-directed mutagenesis. The photochromic properties, the photovoltaic properties, and the nonlinear optical properties of the BR variants will be assessed. This effort involves the close collaboration of investigators with expertise in three different areas: genetics (Richard Needleman). photochemistry (Janos Lanyi) and physics (George Rayfield). A strong industrial collaboration (Bend Research Inc, Bend Oregon) is also part of this program. %%% There exists a need for materials that have superior responses to light than man-made products currently in existence. This research will develop a new family of materials based on the protein bacteriorhodopsin (BR), a unique biological material which has promising light sensitive and photoelectric properties needed for device application (e.g. holographic recording films, associative holographic memories, spatial light modulators, etc.). To fully realize the potential of devices based on BR one must produce mutant Brs at a scale suitable for rapid analysis and fabrication to screen these mutant Brs for important photochromic properties. Mutants proteins will be obtained from the gene coding for BR inserted into a bacterial expression system involving the natural host; this method allows the rapid and facile production of large quantities of mutant proteins derived by site-directed mutagenesis. The photoelectronic properties of these light sensitive proteins will be assessed by investigators with expertise in three different areas: genetics, photochemistry, and physics. A strong industrial collaboration is also part of this program.