Dynamics of proteins and amorphous solids and transport phenomena in proteins.

蛋白质在生物体中执行着广泛的任务，包括催化、电子、离子和小分子的运输、能量的转换和存储、信号转导等。蛋白质的多种可能的构象状态可以用能量景观的概念来描述。关于蛋白质能量景观上的障碍分布的信息对于更好地理解构象变化和折叠是必要的。这种信息可以通过高分辨率光学光谱等方法获得，因为嵌入蛋白质中的色素分子是对其环境的结构特性和动态非常敏感的探测器。我们还试图确定在光学实验中观察到的构象变化所涉及的实体的分子性质。 由于我们使用参与光合作用过程的蛋白质作为模型系统，结果也对可再生能源领域具有潜在的影响。他们回答了周围的蛋白质如何通过色素网络影响光收集的问题，并使其最有效。 我们还寻求在原子水平上深入了解蛋白质中的热耗散，并开发可靠的方案来测量蛋白质中的有效局部温度，特别是在光照下。我们的研究将进一步扩展到利用凸透镜诱导限制方法来研究具有不同程度限制和变形的色素-蛋白质复合体的光谱。该方法的后续发展将包括将色素-蛋白质复合体限制在导电表面之间，以减少或氧化光谱测量中的辅助因子，由光合作用反应中心产生用于传感器应用的无介体光电流，以及勘探承压水。

Proteins perform a broad variety of tasks in living organisms, including catalysis, transport of electrons, ions and small molecules, conversion and storage of energy, signal transduction, etc. The manifold of possible conformational states of a protein can be described using the concept of the energy landscape. Information on distributions of barriers on the protein energy landscapes is necessary to better understand conformational changes and folding. This information can be obtained by methods of high-resolution optical spectroscopy, among others, as pigment molecules embedded into protein serve as very sensitive probes to structural properties and dynamics of their environment. We also seek to determine the molecular nature of the entities involved in the conformational changes observed in optical experiments. Since we utilize proteins involved in the processes of photosynthesis as model systems, the results also have potential implications for the renewable energy field. They answer the question of how surrounding protein affects light-harvesting by pigment networks and makes it most effective. We also seek insight into heat dissipation in proteins on atomic level and developing reliable protocols for measuring the effective local temperature in proteins, particularly under illumination. Our studies will be further expanded to spectroscopy of pigment-protein complexes with various degrees of confinement and deformation using convex lens induced confinement method. Subsequent developments of this method will include confining pigment-protein complexes between conducting surfaces for reduction or oxidation of cofactors for spectroscopy measurements, mediator-less photocurrent generation by photosynthetic reaction centers for sensors applications, as well as exploration of confined water.