PPS Blog

PPS Issue 5 now now online

26 Apr 2012

PPS Issue 5 is now online and features bioluminescent mushrooms on the cover. This image highlights the article from Cassius Stevani and co-workers from Brazil and the USA which provides evidence that a single bioluminescent system is shared by all known bioluminescent fungal lineages. Click here to read the full issue.

Bioluminescence has evolved independently at least 40 times in different lineages of organisms. Although all luminous systems involve the catalytic oxidation of a substrate (a luciferin) by a respective enzyme (a luciferase) or photoprotein the luciferases are not all homologous and each luminescence system has a luciferin with a specific structure. Therefore each system is commonly only found within a single lineage.

Although fungal bioluminescence is a common phenomenon, from the huge diversity in the Kingdom Fungi only 71 species have been verified as bioluminescent and they belong to four distantly related lineages. There has, for a long time been uncertainty about the participation of a luciferase in fungal bioluminescence and only recently did this group prove its involvement confirming the enzymatic nature of bioluminescence (Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2009, 8, 1416)

The question that this study addresses is whether the mechanism of bioluminescence is the same in all four evolutionary lineages, or whether each lineage has a unique mechanism for light emission implying independent origins. Cross-reactions in all possible combinations of hot (substrate/luciferin) and cold (enzyme/luciferase) water extracts from species representing each of the four bioluminescent lineages resulted in light emission. In comparison, cross-reactions of these extracts with extracts from closely related non-luminescent species yielded no light emission. These results suggest that all lineages share a single luminescent pathway and that this arose early in the evolution of the mushroom-forming order Agaricales.

Read the full article by clicking on the link below. Free to read for 6 weeks!

Evidence that a single bioluminescent system is shared by all known bioluminescent fungal lineages
Anderson G. Oliveira, Dennis E. Desjardin, Brian A. Perry and Cassius V. Stevani
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2012, 11, 848-852 DOI: 10.1039/C2PP25032B

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Semisynthetic zinc chlorins as chlorosomal mimics

23 Apr 2012

By Anna Simpson, Executive Editor.

Semisynthetic zinc chlorins are shown for the first time to self-assemble in the absence of an intrinsic hydroxy group, which is always present in the chlorosomal bacteriochlorophylls (BChl’s) c, d and e.

Chlorosomes of green photosynthetic bacteria are the most efficient natural light-harvesting complexes. Structural investigations have revealed fascinating self-assembled supramolecular chromophore architectures which are not scaffolded by protein matrices. In this study, Teodor Silviu Balaban and co-workers from Germany, Japan and France have investigated the self-assembling ability of synthetic chlorins which lack the hydroxyl group but have at least two carbonyl groups.

The findings in this study may shed more light onto the forces and interactions governing the self-assembly of natural and modified BChl’s, and opens up possibilities for artificial light-harvesting systems mimicking the chlorosomal BChl’s in a truly biomimetic approach.

Read the article for free until 21st May by clicking the link below:

Water coordinated zinc dioxo-chlorin and porphyrin self-assemblies as chlorosomal mimics: variability of supramolecular interactions
Aldo Jesorka , Alfred R. Holzwarth, Andreas Eichhöfer, Chilla Malla Reddy , Yusuke Kinoshita, Hitoshi Tamiaki, Martin Katterle , Jean-Valère Naubron and Teodor Silviu Balaban
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2PP25016K

This article is published as part of a themed issue in honour of Professor Kurt Schaffner on the occasion of his 80th birthday; look out for the issue in a few months!

You can keep up to date with the latest developments from PPS by signing up for free table of contents alerts.

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RSC US Roadshows 2012 – Week 1: California

16 Apr 2012

By Mary Badcock, Deputy Editor.

As week 1 of the RSC US Raodshows 2012 begins, look out for Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences Managing Editor Sarah Ruthven who will be visiting universities in California this week.

Starting on the 16th April, RSC Publishing will be touring the United States of America to share more than 170 years experience of publishing in the chemical sciences. Sixteen universities across the country will be hosting these one-day events, which are open to all members of the hosting institute.

Week 1 sees RSC Publishing visit four universities in California:

16th April – University of California Irvine
17th April – University of California Los Angeles
18th April – University of California Santa Barbara
20th April – University of California Berkeley

Click here to find out more…

Keep up to date with the RSC US roadshow by following the Royal Society of Chemistry on Facebook, or look out for #RSC2012 on Twitter!

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PPS Issue 4 published online

22 Mar 2012

By Anna Simpson, Executive Editor.

Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences issue 4 is now online; you can read the full issue here. The front cover of this issue highlights work from Gabriela Lagorio and co-workers from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. I their article the chlorophyll fluorescence from kiwi fruit is studied and modeled from the emission of the different parts of the fruit.

Several fruits (apples, pears, bananas, kiwi fruit, mango, avocado, etc.) contain chlorophyll displaying red fluorescence similar to that emitted by leaves. Kiwi fruit is one of the few fruits containing chlorophyll that retains the green colour during ripening. As chlorophyll fluorescence is connected with the photosystems’ behaviour in the fruit, it may be explored as a tool for quality sensing. This manuscript contributes to the understanding of both basic biospectroscopy of chlorophyll fluorescence and the non-destructive monitoring of kiwi fruit during storage.

Read the full article for free for six weeks!

Modelling chlorophyll fluorescence of kiwi fruit (Actinidia deliciosa)
Johanna Mendes Novo, Analia Iriel and M. Gabriela Lagorio
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2012, 11, 724-730 DOI: 10.1039/C2PP05299G

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Energy transfer from a rhodamine antenna to a ruthenium–bipyridine center

15 Mar 2012

By Anna Simpson, Executive Editor.

Graphical abstract: Energy transfer from a rhodamine antenna to a ruthenium–bipyridine center In a recently published PPS article a team from Argentina demonstrate a way to enable a photodissociation reaction at longer wavelengths by utilising a modified rhodamine B (Rhod) cooridinated to a bis-bipyridine ruthenium (II) (Ru-bpy) phototrigger complex which has enhanced absorption of green light.

Due to the fundamental photochemistry of the system it has not been possible to obtain a phototrigger presenting both high absorption at longer wavelengths (500nm) and a high photorelease quantum yield. In this study the problem is circumvented by a coordinated fluorescent fragment harvesting long wavelength light and transferring this energy to the ruthenium centre, allowing high photoactivity at long wavelengths with very high absorptivity and high energy transfer quantum yield.

The behaviour of phototriggers, which releace a monodentate ligand through the d-d decomposition path, can be used to design caged compounds. Many molecules, including neurotransmitters and other biomolecules can be photodelivered using these complexes, which makes this one of the most promising techniques to cage drugs for photodynamic therapies, for neuroscience and for photoregulation of biological processes in general. This new mechanism found in a rhodamine-enhanced ruthenium phototrigger opens a full set of possibilities for designing Ru–bpy sensitizers, based in rhodamine and possibly other fluorescent dyes.

Read the full article for free until 10^th April by clicking on the title below:

Energy transfer from a rhodamine antenna to a ruthenium–bipyridine center
Oscar Filevich, Beatriz García-Acosta and Roberto Etchenique
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2PP05415A

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Themed issue on photoremovable protecting groups is now online!

02 Mar 2012

By Anna Simpson, Executive Editor.

PPS Issue 3 is now online and is a themed issue on photoremovable protecting groups: development and applications, see the full issue here. This themed issue presents research papers and perspectives on applications of photoremovable protecting groups that provide spatial and temporal control over the release of various chemicals and bioagents. Read Guest Editor Jacob Wirz’s Editorial which introduces the topic here.

The front cover represents an article by Andrei G. Kutateladze and co-workers from the University of Denver in the USA. In their study externally sensitized fragmentation in dithiane PPG-protected carbonyls is adopted for detection and amplification of binding events, which trigger massive self-amplified release of benzophenone from its masked state, simultaneously quenching the fluorescence. Read the full article for free here until 12^th April!

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Dispersing oil spills with UV light and plant-based surfactants

21 Feb 2012

By Anna Simpson, Executive Editor.

Graphical abstract: Effects of visible and UV light on the characteristics and properties of crude oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions What if you could disperse oil spills in the sea, such as the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with air, sunlight, and an environmentally friendly botanical product? These are the ingredients used in a recently published article from Professor Steven Suib and his team from the University of Conneticut, USA. The study found that by adding a plant-based surfactant to a sample of synthetic seawater mixed with crude oil, pumping in air, stirring the sample and exposing it to ultraviolet light, the oil/water mixture quickly broke down into small particles.

The effects of visible and UV light on the characteristics and properties of Prudhoe Bay (PB) and South Louisiana (SL) emulsions were investigated to better understand the role of sunlight on the fate of spilled crude oils that form emulsions with a dispersant in the aquatic environment. The unique changes in physico-chemical properties of these emulsions as a result of photodegradation were investigated.

“Photodegradation of crude oil components can be an effective process for mitigating some of the damaging impacts resulting from oil spills in the aquatic environment,” the authors write. With the availability of modern, efficient UV-visible light sources, the process “may enable economic application of photodetoxification on a large-scale basis,” they say.

Interested in knowing more? Read the article for free until March 20^th.

Effects of visible and UV light on the characteristics and properties of crude oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions
Homer C. Genuino, Dayton T. Horvath, Cecil K. King’ondu, George E. Hoag, John B. Collins and Steven L. Suib
Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2012, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C2PP05275J

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Top ten most accessed articles in March

PPS Issue 5 now now online

Semisynthetic zinc chlorins as chlorosomal mimics

RSC US Roadshows 2012 – Week 1: California

Top ten most accessed articles in February

PPS Issue 4 published online

Energy transfer from a rhodamine antenna to a ruthenium–bipyridine center

Themed issue on photoremovable protecting groups is now online!

Top ten most accessed articles in January

Dispersing oil spills with UV light and plant-based surfactants

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