Researchers Develop Microscope to Track Light Energy Flow in Photosynthetic Cells

In University of Michigan, researchers have developed a powerful microscope that can map how light energy migrates in photosynthetic bacteria on timescales of one-quadrillionth of a second. The microscope could help researchers develop more efficient organic photovoltaic materials, a type of solar cell that could provide cheaper energy than silicon-based solar cells. 

The microscope could help researchers develop more efficient organic photovoltaic materials, a type of solar cell that could provide cheaper energy than silicon-based solar cells.

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In photosynthetic plants and bacteria, light hits the leaf or bacteria and a system of tiny lightharvesting antennae shuttle it along through proteins to what's called a reaction center. Here, light is "trapped" and turned into metabolic energy for the organisms.

Jennifer Ogilvie, U-M professor of physics and biophysics, and her team want to capture the movement of this light energy through proteins in a cell, and the team has taken one step toward that goal in developing this microscope. 

Their study has been published in Nature Communications. Reference: Nature Communication, University of Michigan