Responsabile: Prof.ssa Donatella Carbonera, PA, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche

• Photosynthesis research and Bio-inspired Artificial photosynthesis
• Photo-protection mechanisms
• Photo-Bio-production of Hydrogen

Composizione del GRE:

• Donatella Carbonera, PA
• Marilena Di Valentin, PA

Aree di ricerca di afferenza:

• Conversione dell’energia solare

Laboratori:

Laboratorio EPR e ODMR

Attività:

• Natural photosynthetic systems; The main research activity is focussed on photosynthesis and related phenomena. The spectroscopic EPR investigation, complemented with the quantum mechanical calculations, address some of the open questions on the molecular mechanisms taking place in photosynthetic systems, such as photo-protection and photo-inhibition
• Artificial bio-mimetic photosynthetic systems. Analogs of photosynthetic reaction centers and of light-harvesting systems, including the photo-protective carotenoid moiety, for photo-conversion of solar energy, are studied by time-resolved and pulsed EPR
• Hydrogenase and photo-production of bio-hydrogen. [FeFe]-hydrogenases are key enzymes for bio-production of H2. Research is currently underway to understand how their active site is assembled, and to improve the development of bio-inspired hydrogenase catalysts in renewable energy applications

Elenco delle ultime cinque pubblicazioni:

1. The proton iron-sulfur cluster environment of the [FeFe]-hydrogenase maturation protein HydF from Thermotoga neapolitana Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2014, 39,18574–18582
2. Evidence for water-mediated triplet-triplet energy transfer in the photoprotective site of the peridinin-chlorophyll a-protein, Biochem. Biophys. Acta., 2014, 1837, 85-97
3. Zeaxanthin Protects Plant Photosynthesis by Modulating Chlorophyll Triplet Yield in Specific Light-harvesting Antenna Subunits, J. Biol. Chem., 2012, 287, 41820-41834
4. The [4Fe-4S]-cluster coordination of [FeFe]-hydrogenase maturation protein HydF as revealed by EPR and HYSCORE spectroscopies, Biochem. Biophys. Acta., 2012, 1817, 2149-2157
5. NPQ activation reduces chlorophyll triplet state formation in the moss Physcomitrella patens Biochem., Biophys. Acta., 2012, 1817, 1608-1615.

Contatti:

Prof. Donatella Carbonera, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Padova, via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova

Tel.: +39 049 827 5144 | Fax.: +39 049 827 5161

e-mail: donatella.carbonera@unipd.it

web: www.chimica.unipd.it/biofisica/pubblica