The objective of this work was to conduct basic research in biologically inspired energy conversion solutions. A photosynthetic protein (Bacteriorhodopsin) was reconstituted in a bi-layer membrane. Then, when a laser beam was shined on the membrane, the photon energy was used by the protein to pump protons across the membrane. The translocation of protons across the membrane was measured as photocurrent. For this purpose, a system was built to characterize the lipid bilayer membranes and to measure the photocurrent. The lipid bilayer membrane was characterized by its capacitance and resistance. A picoampere photocurrent was observed when Bacteriorhodopsin protein was present in the bilayer membrane and a 532 nm laser was used as light source. The obtained values were consistent with the reports from literature. An introduction to the generation of photocurrent by photosynthetic proteins in lipid membranes was reviewed and their applications are discussed in this thesis.
","abstract_html":"<p>The objective of this work was to conduct basic research in biologically inspired energy conversion solutions. A photosynthetic protein (Bacteriorhodopsin) was reconstituted in a bi-layer membrane. Then, when a laser beam was shined on the membrane, the photon energy was used by the protein to pump protons across the membrane. The translocation of protons across the membrane was measured as photocurrent. For this purpose, a system was built to characterize the lipid bilayer membranes and to measure the photocurrent. The lipid bilayer membrane was characterized by its capacitance and resistance. A picoampere photocurrent was observed when Bacteriorhodopsin protein was present in the bilayer membrane and a 532 nm laser was used as light source. The obtained values were consistent with the reports from literature. An introduction to the generation of photocurrent by photosynthetic proteins in lipid membranes was reviewed and their applications are discussed in this thesis. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kamwa, Joel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Microelectronics-Photonics (MS)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Fritsch, Ingrid","Naseem, Hameed A."],"advisors":["Li, Jiali"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:26Z","subjects":["Artificial photosynthesis","Bacteriorhodopsin","Biosolar cell","Lipid membranes","Photocurrent","Protein membrane","Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics","Biophysics","Electromagnetics and Photonics","Nanoscience and Nanotechnology","Power and Energy"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2006","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Fritsch, Ingrid","Naseem, Hameed A."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Li, Jiali"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kamwa, Joel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-11-04T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Microelectronics-Photonics (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Artificial photosynthesis","Bacteriorhodopsin","Biosolar cell","Lipid membranes","Photocurrent","Protein membrane","Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics","Biophysics","Electromagnetics and Photonics","Nanoscience and Nanotechnology","Power and Energy"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2006"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The objective of this work was to conduct basic research in biologically inspired energy conversion solutions. A photosynthetic protein (Bacteriorhodopsin) was reconstituted in a bi-layer membrane. Then, when a laser beam was shined on the membrane, the photon energy was used by the protein to pump protons across the membrane. The translocation of protons across the membrane was measured as photocurrent. For this purpose, a system was built to characterize the lipid bilayer membranes and to measure the photocurrent. The lipid bilayer membrane was characterized by its capacitance and resistance. A picoampere photocurrent was observed when Bacteriorhodopsin protein was present in the bilayer membrane and a 532 nm laser was used as light source. The obtained values were consistent with the reports from literature. An introduction to the generation of photocurrent by photosynthetic proteins in lipid membranes was reviewed and their applications are discussed in this thesis.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Photoelectric Characterization of Bacteriorhodopsin Reconstituted in Lipid Bilayer Membrane"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Fritsch, Ingrid","Naseem, Hameed A."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Li, Jiali"],"dc:creator":["Kamwa, Joel"],"dc:date":["2014"],"dc:date.available":["2021-11-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The objective of this work was to conduct basic research in biologically inspired energy conversion solutions. A photosynthetic protein (Bacteriorhodopsin) was reconstituted in a bi-layer membrane. Then, when a laser beam was shined on the membrane, the photon energy was used by the protein to pump protons across the membrane. The translocation of protons across the membrane was measured as photocurrent. For this purpose, a system was built to characterize the lipid bilayer membranes and to measure the photocurrent. The lipid bilayer membrane was characterized by its capacitance and resistance. A picoampere photocurrent was observed when Bacteriorhodopsin protein was present in the bilayer membrane and a 532 nm laser was used as light source. The obtained values were consistent with the reports from literature. An introduction to the generation of photocurrent by photosynthetic proteins in lipid membranes was reviewed and their applications are discussed in this thesis.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/2006"],"dc:subject":["Artificial photosynthesis","Bacteriorhodopsin","Biosolar cell","Lipid membranes","Photocurrent","Protein membrane","Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics","Biophysics","Electromagnetics and Photonics","Nanoscience and Nanotechnology","Power and Energy"],"dc:title":["Photoelectric Characterization of Bacteriorhodopsin Reconstituted in Lipid Bilayer Membrane"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Microelectronics-Photonics (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:26Z"}