Since its inception the Photobioenergetics
Group has carried out a range of fundamental studies on the interaction
of light with the pigment-protein complexes found in green plants and
algae. In particular we have employed and developed novel spectroscopic
techniques to probe the unique biophysical chemistry involved in the
photosynthetic conversion of light energy into useful chemical energy. In
the evolution of the Group towards BioMolecular Design, where we will
mimic natural biological reactions in synthetic proteins, we have organized
our various spectroscopic capabilities into a special “BioMolecular Spectroscopy
Facility” that is dedicated for measurements of protein and biological
samples.
Instrumentation
The instrumentation has three main themes
By consolidating the instruments into a special facility, we are better
able to evaluate and exploit the latest technical developments and special
needs for biological studies. The facility is available for use by
any researcher at the ANU. A brief summary of our current capabilities
is given below. There is no cost recovery sought for ANU users of this
ANU infrastructure but regular ANU users may asked to contribute to the
small costs of maintaining these instruments.
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Horiba Jobin-Yvon FluoroMax-3 Spectrofluorometer
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This instrument is used for the measurement of corrected fluorescence emission, excitation and polarization spectra over the visible spectral region. It is suitable for fluorescence studies of pigments and chromophores in general, such as chlorophylls and hemes, as well as of proteins in which the fluorescence arises from the tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine residues. This instrument is equipped with a xenon arc lamp for excitation starting at 270 nm, a red sensitive PMT detector for measurements out to 850 nm, and a liquid N2 accessory for making measurements at 77K to increase the spectral resolution.
<specifications.pdf>
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ISS K2 Multi-Frequency Phase
Fluorometer
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This instrument is used to measure fluorescence lifetimes with
~ 10 picosecond time resolution, using light emitting laser diodes
for excitation in the red (~635 nm) and the blue (~405 nm) spectral
regions. It houses a MCP detector element for fast kinetic resolution
0.5-1 GHz resolution. This instrument is suitable for chlorophyll
and protein studies and is equipped with a global analysis algorithm
for sorting out multiple lifetime components associated with net
fluorescence yield changes that are monitored by the FluoroMax-3.
<specifications.pdf>
Instrument Home
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Varian-Cary 300 Scan UV-Visible Spectrophotometer
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This is a general instrument used for the measurement
of absorption spectra over the UV-visible spectral range. It is operationally
quite fast to set up and can perform kinetic measurements of enzyme
assays with sample stirring and will generate relatively high resolution
spectra. It does not contain a true dual monochonomator but instead
contains a single monochronomator and a "premonochonomator" for improving
stray light and linearity.
<specifications.pdf>
Instrument
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Olis
RSM 1000 Kinetic Absorption Spectrophotometer |
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This instrument is used for the measurement of kinetic absorption
changes in the visible spectral region over a bandwidth of 80 nm. It
is equipped with a rotating slit monochronometer that provides a
millisecond time resolution. Single point time resolution at
~10 microseconds is also possible.
< Olis
RSM overview >
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Bruker Vertex 80v Fourier Transform Infrared Interferometer
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This instrument is used for measuring molecular vibrational spectra
over the midrange infrared region (3000 – 900 cm-1). It is
suitable for proteins and organic compounds in general and is capable
of measuring light-induced difference spectra. It will also
have available a low frequency wide-band MCT detector for measurements
down to 400 cm-1, typical of metal ligand interactions. In
addition, it is equipped with rapid-scan and step-scan capabilities
for time-resolved measurements in the milli- and microsecond time
range, a DurasamplIR internal reflectance (ATR) accessory for measurements
of samples embedded in films, a PAR 263A potentiostat accessory for
measuring redox-induced changes, and a low temperature Oxford cryostat
are available.
<specifications.pdf>
Instrument
Home Page
Instrument Sampling options
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