Photosynthetically active arabidopsis protoplasts for power scavenging, absorbance and optical density analysis

Plants and photosynthetic bacteria hold protein molecular complexes that can efficiently harvest photons. This thesis presents fundamental studies to harness photochemical activities by converting photonic energy into electrical energy. The electrical behavior of protoplast extracted from Arabidopsis plants was characterized in the presence and absence of light. The photo-induced reactions of photosynthesis were measured using a patch clamp measurement system at a constant voltage. The absorbance and optical density measurements showed very large bandwidth for extracted protoplasts. The optical measurements were performed on the protoplast of Arabidopsis thaliana plants and showed absorption bands at a number of wavelengths. The analysis of the optical data showed that proteins complexes obtained from photosynthetic cells can overcome the limitation of traditional organic solar cells that cannot absorb light in the visible- Near Infrared (NIR) spectrum. The current-voltage measurements done on protoplast extracts showed two orders of magnitude change when exposed to light. The demonstration of electrical power scavenging from plant from plant protoplast can open avenues for bio--inspired and bio-derived power with better quantum efficiency.