Photosynthesis primary processes

M. D. Kamen, Primary Processes in Photosynthesis, Academic Press, New York (1963). 

Barber, J., Topics in Photosynthesis, Vol. 2 Primary Processes of Photosynthesis, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1977. 

Bolton, J.R. "Primary Processes of Photosynthesis" (Barber, J., ed.) Elsevier/North Holland Biomedical Press Amsterdam, 1977 pp 188-201. 

The highly oriented molecules in thin organic films such as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films and self-assembled monolayers (SAM) [1] are essential for some molecular functions. Non linear optical and opto-electronic properties are two of the most important and interesting functions of these molecular assemblies. In the past more than thirteen years, simulation of the primary process of photosynthesis using such molecular assemblies and its application to molecular photodiodes [2,3] have been one of the main subjects of our laboratory. 

W. Rettig, Charge separation in excited states of decoupled systems-TICT compounds and implications regarding the development of new laser dyes and the primary processes of vision and photosynthesis, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 25, 971-988(1986). 

In an early review2 A. J. Hoff called the primary processes of photosynthesis a Garden of Eden for EPR spectroscopists . And indeed this techniques plays until today a major role in this field of research and the results derived from EPR and related experiments have contributed very substantially to our knowledge about the details of the light-induced processes and of the coupled enzymatic reactions. 

The triplet-triplet quenching mechanism implying as it does, the concentration of the energy from two separately absorbed quanta on a single molecular species, should also be considered as a possible participant in the primary processes of photosynthesis, where just such a concentration of quanta is necessary to provide the energy required for the photochemical reactions. 

The initial or primary processes of photosynthesis occur in the reaction centers in which chlorophyll or bacteriochlorophyll absorbs a photon.3183 Then, the chlorophyll, in its singlet excited state (Chi ), donates an electron to some acceptor A to form a radical A-and to leave an oxidized chlorophyll Chl+ radical (Eq. 23-31). 

The primary process of photosynthesis (in both photosystems) is an electron transfer reaction from the electronically excited chlorophyll molecule to an electron acceptor, which is in most cases a quinone. This primary electron acceptor can then hand over its extra electron to other, lower energy, acceptors in electron transport chains which can be used to build up other molecules needed by the organism (in particular adenosine triphosphate ATP). The complete process of photosynthesis is therefore much... 

Photosynthesis, another potential target of bioconjugation, is one of the most important processes in nature. In photosynthesis, photoelectric conversion with nearly 100% efficiency is involved in the primary process.47-48 Such a high performance of photosystem I (PSI) is due to its well-designed spatial configuration. A large number of trials have applied such biological systems to electronic devices. For example, chloroplasts coated on an SnC>2 electrode have been examined as photoelectrochemical cells.49-53... 

Our work in this area is on the primary processes of photosynthesis which occur in the photochemical, i.e. the excited state, regime which, in turn, is confined to the first few nanoseconds of the process. 

The answer to the second question, why the study of the very fast primary processes , is, first of all, because, like Everest, they are there. We need to study all aspects of photosynthesis and it is the one we ourselves have chosen because it involves specialised techniques where we are best equipped to contribute. 

Renger G. Primary Processes of Photosynthesis - Part 1. Cambridge RSC, 2008. 

Mobius K. Primary processes in photosynthesis what do we learn from high-held EPR spectroscopy. Chem Soc Rev 2000 29 129-39. 

Renger G, editor. Primary processes of photosynthesis, part 2. Principles and apparatus. Cambridge, UK RSC Publishing 2008. 

Knox R. Photosynthetic efficiency and excitation transfer and trapping in primary processes of photosynthesis. In Topics in Photosynthesis. Barber 1, eds. 1977. Elsevier-North Holland. Amsterdam, pp. 55-97. 

The other new aspect of our work was that it provided the first detailed structure of the photosynthetic reaction center. Thus it helped to understand how light energy is converted into chemical energy in the primary process of photosynthesis. 

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