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Transfer of excitation energy in photosynthesis: some thoughts

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Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to aid biologists understand the complex physical problems of intramolecular energy transfer, in particular, between antenna (bacterio) chlorophyll molecules in vivo.

The author has attempted, in the first part of the paper, to explain complicated processes of excitation transfer in a language understandable to readers with knowledge in fundamentals of general physics, but not in molecular optics.

The second part of this paper is a critical review relevant to the specifics of physical theories and their applicability to the problem of energy transfer in antenna (bacterio) chlorophylls ((B) Chls) to reaction centers (RCs) in the photosynthetic organisms.

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Abbreviations

PSU:

photosynthetic unit

RC:

reaction center

Chl:

chlorophyll

BChl:

bacteriochlorophyll

τr :

intrinsic radiactive lifetime

τfl :

fluorescence lifetime

ψfl :

fluorescence quantum yield

S* :

singlet excited state of a molecule

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Photosynthesis, Moscow State University, Building “A”, V-234, 119899, Moscow, U.S.S.R.

    A. Y. Borisov

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  1. A. Y. Borisov
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Borisov, A.Y. Transfer of excitation energy in photosynthesis: some thoughts. Photosynth Res 20, 35–58 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00028621

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00028621

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