Coherent Control for a Two-level System Coupled to Phonons

The interband polarizations induced by two phase-locked pulses in a semiconductor show strong interference effects depending on the time tau_1 separating the pulses. The four-wave mixing signal diffracted from a third pulse delayed by tau is coherently controlled by tuning tau_1. The four-wave mixing response is evaluated exactly for a two-level system coupled to a single LO phonon. In the weak coupling regime it shows oscillations with the phonon frequency which turn into sharp peaks at multiples of the phonon period for a larger coupling strength. Destructive interferences between the two phase-locked pulses produce a splitting of the phonon peaks into a doublet. For fixed tau but varying tau_1 the signal shows rapid oscillations at the interband-transition frequency, whose amplitude exhibits bursts at multiples of the phonon period.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTex, content change

Modulating membrane shape and mechanics of minimal cells by light: area increase, softening and interleaflet coupling of membrane models doped with azobenzene-lipid photoswitches

Light can effectively interrogate biological systems providing control over complex cellular processes. Particularly advantageous features of photo-induced processes are reversibility, physiological compatibility, and spatiotemporal precision. Understanding the underlying biophysics of light-triggered changes in bio-systems is crucial for cell viability and optimizing clinical applications of photo-induced processes in biotechnology, optogenetics and photopharmacology. Employing membranes doped with the photolipid azobenzene-phosphatidylcholine (azo-PC), we provide a holistic picture of light-triggered changes in membrane morphology, mechanics and dynamics. We combine microscopy of giant vesicles as minimal cell models, Langmuir monolayers, and molecular dynamics simulations. We employ giant vesicle elelctrodeformation as a facile and accurate approach to quantify the magnitude, reversibility and kinetics of light-induced area expansion/shrinkage as a result of azo-PC photoisomerization and content. Area increase as high as ~25% and a 10-fold decrease in the membrane bending rigidity is observed upon trans-to-cis azo-PC isomerization. These results are in excellent agreement with simulations data and monolayers. Simulations also show that trans-to-cis isomerization of azo-PC decreases the membrane leaflet coupling. We demonstrate that light can be used to finely manipulate the shape and mechanics of photolipid-doped minimal cell models and liposomal drug carriers, thus, presenting a promising therapeutic alternative for the repair of cellular disorders.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest

Identifying Membrane Lateral Organization by Contrast-Matched Small Angle Neutron Scattering

Lipid domains in model membranes are routinely studied to provide insight into the physical interactions that drive raft formation in cellular membranes. Using small angle neutron scattering, contrast-matching techniques enable the detection of lipid domains ranging from tens to hundreds of nanometers which are not accessible to other techniques without the use of extrinsic probes. Here, we describe a probe-free experimental approach and model-free analysis to identify lipid domains in freely floating vesicles of ternary phase separating lipid mixtures

Resonance Raman and FTIR spectroscopic characterization of the closed and open states of channelrhodopsin-1.

Channelrhodopsin-1 from Chlamydomonas augustae (CaChR1) is a light-activated cation channel, which is a promising optogenetic tool. We show by resonance Raman spectroscopy and retinal extraction followed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) that the isomeric ratio of all-trans to 13-cis of solubilized channelrhodopsin-1 is with 70:30 identical to channelrhodopsin-2 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CrChR2). Critical frequency shifts in the retinal vibrations are identified in the Raman spectrum upon transition to the open (conductive P2(380)) state. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra indicate different structures of the open states in the two channelrhodopsins as reflected by the amide I bands and the protonation pattern of acidic amino acids

In-Situ Observation of Membrane Protein Folding during Cell-Free Expression.

Proper insertion, folding and assembly of functional proteins in biological membranes are key processes to warrant activity of a living cell. Here, we present a novel approach to trace folding and insertion of a nascent membrane protein leaving the ribosome and penetrating the bilayer. Surface Enhanced IR Absorption Spectroscopy selectively monitored insertion and folding of membrane proteins during cell-free expression in a label-free and non-invasive manner. Protein synthesis was performed in an optical cell containing a prism covered with a thin gold film with nanodiscs on top, providing an artificial lipid bilayer for folding. In a pilot experiment, the folding pathway of bacteriorhodopsin via various secondary and tertiary structures was visualized. Thus, a methodology is established with which the folding reaction of other more complex membrane proteins can be observed during protein biosynthesis (in situ and in operando) at molecular resolution

Changes in the hydrogen-bonding strength of internal water molecules and cysteine residues in the conductive state of channelrhodopsin-1

Water plays an essential role in the structure and function of proteins, particularly in the less understood class of membrane proteins. As the first of its kind, channelrhodopsin is a light-gated cation channel and paved the way for the new and vibrant field of optogenetics, where nerve cells are activated by light. Still, the molecular mechanism of channelrhodopsin is not understood. Here, we applied time-resolved FT-IR difference spectroscopy to channelrhodopsin-1 from Chlamydomonas augustae. It is shown that the (conductive) P2 380 intermediate decays with τ ≈ 40 ms and 200 ms after pulsed excitation. The vibrational changes between the closed and the conductive states were analyzed in the X-H stretching region (X = O, S, N), comprising vibrational changes of water molecules, sulfhydryl groups of cysteine side chains and changes of the amide A of the protein backbone. The O-H stretching vibrations of ¿dangling¿ water molecules were detected in two different states of the protein using H2 18O exchange. Uncoupling experiments with a 1:1 mixture of H2O:D2O provided the natural uncoupled frequencies of the four O-H (and O-D) stretches of these water molecules, each with a very weakly hydrogen-bonded O-H group (3639 and 3628 cm−1) and with the other O-H group medium (3440 cm−1) to moderately strongly (3300 cm−1) hydrogen-bonded. Changes in amide A and thiol vibrations report on global and local changes, respectively, associated with the formation of the conductive state. Future studies will aim at assigning the respective cysteine group(s) and at localizing the ¿dangling¿ water molecules within the protein, providing a better understanding of their functional relevance in CaChR1

Isolation of a HypC–HypD complex carrying diatomic CO and CN− ligands

The HypC and HypD maturases are required for the biosynthesis of the Fe(CN)2CO cofactor in the large subunit of [NiFe]-hydrogenases. Using infrared spectroscopy we demonstrate that an anaerobically purified, Strep-tagged HypCD complex from Escherichia coli exhibits absorption bands characteristic of diatomic CO and CN− ligands as well as CO2. Metal and sulphide analyses revealed that along with the [4Fe–4S]2+ cluster in HypD, the complex has two additional oxygen-labile Fe ions. We prove that HypD cysteine 41 is required for the coordination of all three ligands. These findings suggest that the HypCD complex carries minimally the Fe(CN)2CO cofactor

Dynamical Decoupling of Open Quantum Systems

We propose a novel dynamical method for beating decoherence and dissipation in open quantum systems. We demonstrate the possibility of filtering out the effects of unwanted (not necessarily known) system-environment interactions and show that the noise-suppression procedure can be combined with the capability of retaining control over the effective dynamical evolution of the open quantum system. Implications for quantum information processing are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, no figures; Plain ReVTeX. Final version to appear in Physical Review Letter

Comunicação para o desenvolvimento nas ciências agrárias: um modelo para as agências públicas de P&D.

Esta proposta tem por finalidade rever conceitos e se possível colaborar para que se constitua um novo modelo para a interação das agências de pesquisa públicas em agropecuária com a sociedade. Propõe que se trabalhe com duas esferas de comunicação em tais instituições, sendo uma relacionada a comunicação organizacional e outra em comunicação para o desenvolvimento. Introduz também a noção de intercâmbio,no sentido de valorizar a participação horizontal entre os atores e como forma de trabalhar a relação dialógica e objetiva entre os institutos e os técnicos e produtores rurais. Fortalece a ideia de que é possível ter uma nova compreensão sobre como a comunicação pode atuar no processo de desenvolvimento nas agências de pesquisa e desenvolvimento.CODE 2011

Exploiting exciton-exciton interactions in semiconductor quantum dots for quantum-information processing

We propose an all-optical implementation of quantum-information processing in semiconductor quantum dots, where electron-hole excitations (excitons) serve as the computational degrees of freedom (qubits). We show that the strong dot confinement leads to an overall enhancement of Coulomb correlations and to a strong renormalization of the excitonic states, which can be exploited for performing conditional and unconditional qubit operations.Comment: 5 pages revtex, 2 encapsulated postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Communication