Self Assembled Bacteriorhodopsin as a Pattern for Intercalated Chromophores

This proposal is directed at the investigation of new nano-scale ordered structures based on self-assembling biological molecules. The objective of this program is to characterize the two-dimensional crystalline structure of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) as a template into which various nonbiological chromophores can be intercalated. Such a structure would result in highly ordered materials with useful electro-optic, photovoltaic, photochromic, and nonlinear-optical properties. In this Phase I program, we plan to study both the short-range and long-range structure of the BR template following intercalation of a series of merocyanine dyes. These dyes will serve as a probe to determine the structural order and stability of the two-dimensional crystalline lattice, and they will allow us to examine the potential of the material for electro-field orientation and photochromicity. Characterization methods that we will use in the Phase I program include visible spectroscopy, circular dichroism, electric-field-induced anisotropy, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction.