Preparation of a gene-engineering mutant of bacteriorhodopsin BR-D96V and corresponding poly(vinyl alcohol)-based functional composite films

Bacteriorhodopsin(BR)exhibits,as a membrane protein in Halobacterium salinarum,unique photoresponsive behaviors,and shows promise as a functional information material.A new mutant of BR with the 96th aspartic acid replaced by valine(BR-D96V)was obtained and then a composite film of BR-D96V in a synthetic polymer matrix was prepared in this research.The mutant BR-D96V was expressed in a bacterio-opsin deficient halobacterial strain(L33)by gene engineering.Although valine is very hydrophobic,this point mutant keeps the basic biological activities,namely,photoelectric and photochromic responses.Nevertheless,the lifetime of M intermediate in the BR mutant is nearly two orders of magnitude longer than that of wild-type BR in neutral aqueous solution,which benefits its potential application as an information material.The M lifetime is further significantly prolonged after embedding BR-D96V into poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA).It was also found that BR-D96V is very sensitive to water content in comparison with wild-type BR and another BR mutant.

Preparation of a cross-linked gelatin/bacteriorhodopsin film and its photochromic properties

Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) is a photochromic membrane protein isolated from a strain of halobacteria.Embedment of BR into a polymeric matrix enables the application of the photoactive protein as an optical material.In this work,a chemically crosslinked BR/gelatin film was prepared.The cross-linked film was found to be highly stable even under extreme alkaline or detergent circumstance while BR maintained its bioactivity.The treatments of base and detergents also led to dramatic prolongation of the lifetime of M photoproduct,which might be beneficial for potential applications such as information storage.The BR/gelatin film was demonstrated to tentatively record a simple pattern.