Leader: Andrei P. Razjivin
Department was organized in 1976. Prof. A.Yu. Borisov was the first Head of Department. Since 1996 to present day Prof. A.P Razjivin is at the head.
Research areasTheoretical and experimental studies of primary processes of photosynthesis. Further development and application of optical spectroscopy methods (derivative spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy) in Life Sciences.
Major research advancesDemonstration of picosecond-scale processes of energy transfer from light-harvesting chlorophyll to reaction centers in purple and green bacteria and plant photosystem I [Borisov AY, Godik VI. Fluorescence lifetime of bacteriochlorophyll and reaction center photooxidation in purple bacterium. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1970; 221: 441-3; Borisov AY, Godik VI. Energy transfer in bacterial photosynthesis. I. Light intensity dependences of fluorescence lifetimes. Bioenergetics. 1972; 3: 211-20; Borisov AY, Il’ina MD. Fluorescence lifetime and energy migration mechanism in photosystem-1 of plants. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1973; 305: 364-73; Borisov AY, Fetisova ZG, Godik VI. Energy transfer in photoactive complexes obtained from green bacterium Ch. limicola. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1977; 461: 501-9]. Discovery of "minor" form signal in chromatophores from purple bacteria [Razjivin AP et al. The study of excitation transfer between light-harvesting antenna and reaction center in chromatophores from purple bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum by selective picosecond spectroscopy. FEBS Lett. 1982; 143: 40-4; Borisov AY et al. Minor component B-905 of light-harvesting antenna in Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores and the mechanism of singlet-singlet annihilation as studied by difference selective picosecond spectroscopy. FEBS Lett. 1982; 138: 25-8]. Development of polaron mechanism of energy conversion in photosynthetic reaction centers [Fok MV, Borisov AY. Water and energy conversion in photosynthesis. Studia biophysica. 1981; 84: 115-24; Borisov AY. New concept of energy migration and trapping in purple bacteria. Biochem Mol Biol Int. 1995; 35: 833-40]. Development of exciton theory of primary processes of photosynthesis (excitation energy transfer and trapping by means of excitations delocalized over circular aggregates of bacteriochlorophyll molecules in light-harvesting antenna of photosynthetic bacteria [Novoderezhkin VI, Razjivin AP. Excitonic interactions in the light-harvesting antenna of photosynthetic purple bacteria and their influence on picosecond absorbance spectra. FEBS Lett. 1993; 330: 5-7; Novoderezhkin VI, Razjivin AP. Exciton dynamics in circular aggregates: Application to antenna of photosynthetic purple bacteria. Biophys J. 1995; 68: 1089-1100; Novoderezhkin VI, Razjivin AP. The theory of Forster-type migration between clusters of strongly interacting molecules: application to light-harvesting complexes of purple bacteria. Chem Physics. 1996; 211: 203-214; Dracheva TV, Novoderezhkin VI, Razjivin AP. Exciton delocalization in the light-harvesting LH2 complex of photosynthetic purple bacteria. Photochem Photobiol. 1997; 66: 141-6].
Grants and projectsGrants of Russian Foundation of Basic Research: "Interrelation of spectral and structural characteristics of photosynthetic antennae according experimental and theoretical investigations" (A.P.Razjivin, 2003-2005); "Excitation transfer in pigment-protein complexes of photosynthesis: experimental investigations by non-linear spectroscopy and theoretical simulation" (A.Yu. Borisov, 2005-2007); Russian-Dutch grant RFBR-NWO "Mathematical modeling of energy transfer in photosynthesis" (V.I. Novoderezhkin, 2004-2006), Interdisciplinary project of Moscow State University "Biosensors on the basis of new fluorescent proteins: directed synthesis and optical properties" (A.P. Razjivin, 2004-2005). In preceding years - grants from INTAS, WTZ, G.Soros's International Science Foundation, Dutch NWO as well as several grants from RFBR.
PrizesI.Shuvalov's avard of Moscow State University (V.I.Novoderezhkin, 000).