CCNY researchers have discovered evidence that quantum events occur in plants.
City College of New York Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering Robert R. Alfano and his team at the CUNY Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers (CUNY IUSL) continue their groundbreaking work in spectroscopy by discovering evidence that quantum events occur in plants.
“It has been theorized that quantum events occur in nature, but it hasn’t been measured until now. These are the first steps in understanding that quantum effects occur in nature and biology,” Alfano said.
His team’s findings, published in the latest issue of the journal “Photochemistry and Photobiology,” offer scientists a glimpse into a very small world.
Using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, Alfano’s team studied the primary events behind photosynthesis. These primary events are what starts photosynthesis and occur on the nanoscale, or one-billionth of a meter.
His team devised a technique using a streak camera to measure the pulse of a laser in a piece of spinach. The laser excites the electrons directly into the chlorophyll pigments in the spinach leaf at 675 nm in nanometer size photounits 1 and 2. According to Alfano, taking measurements of this kind hasn’t been done before.
The experiment showed that the molecules inside the chlorophyll pigments are confined in a defined space, or quantized, and that the electrons are working together in nanometer size photosynthesis units of PS1 and PS2 emitting at 730 nm and 695nm, respectively.
“The confinement of the molecules demonstrates that the primary event of photosynthesis is a quantum mechanical process,” said Alfano.
Measuring the structure of these quantum molecules is key to understanding how other biological processes occur on the nanoscale.
“This is a significant advance in our understanding of the primary events of photosynthesis,” Alfano added.
This research will enable Alfano and his team further study into how the quantum effect occurs in other biological areas, such as in additional plant pigments, in the microtubulars of the brain, and the properties of photons.
The research was partially funded by grants from the United States Amy Research Office Marc Ulrich (ARO) and Daniel Nolan (Corning). Alfano’s team includes Laura Sorillo and Yury Budansky (CUNY IUSL).
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