Instrumentation for Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Oxygen and Fluorescence in Photosynthetic Bio-Materials

This award supports the development of an improved version of an oxygen electrode that is expected to have an oxygen sensitivity five orders of magnitude greater than that of commercially available electrodes of similar type, as well as an improved response time. The instrument will also have fluorescence excitation and detection capabilities. The instrument is expected to facilitate studies of photosynthetic reaction mechanisms, permitting the determination of the redox state and charge transfer kinetics of photosynthetic cofactors in the microsecond time range. In addition to these scientific goals, the project is expected to have a significant impact on training of graduate and undergraduate students.