UNIT 4 - BIOINSPIRED ENGINEERING

Lotus leaf effect (Super hydrophobic and self-cleaning surfaces), Echolocation of bats and
whales (Ultrasonography), Photosynthesis (PV cells, Bionic leaf), Bird flying (air crafts),
Plant burrs (Velcro).

Lotus leaf effect (Super hydrophobic and self-cleaning surfaces)

The roots of the lotus plant take hold in the muddy bottoms of ponds and riverbeds. From
there, thick stems rise above the water's surface and issue giant, pristine leaves and flowers.
The leaves remain clean despite the water and mud on which they rest. Even water refuses to
stick to the leaves of the lotus plant. Instead, it beads on the surface and rolls off at the
slightest disturbance.

Fig 1: Leaves of Indian Lotus, Nelumbo nucifera, at Lotus Pond, Hyderabad, India. Water
does not wet the lotus leaves, but instead forms beads of water that easily roll off its edges. In
this computer-generated microscopic image of a lotus leaf with water droplets, notice the
double structure of the leaf and the protrusions from the leaf covered in a rough, waxy
material, which creates its superhydrophobic surface.

Scientists have found that the basis for both of these properties (self-cleaning and water-
repellent) lies in the rough structure of the surface of the lotus leaves. The lotus leaf has a
series of protrusions on the order of 10 μm (1.0 x 10- 5 m) high covering its surface. Each
protrusion is itself covered in bumps of a hydrophobic, waxy material that are roughly 100
nm (1 x 10-7 m) in height. When water droplets are applied to the lotus leaf, they sit lightly on
the tips of the hydrophobic protrusions as if on a bed of nails (Figure 1). This combined
structure traps a layer of air in between the surface of the leaf and the water droplet. Hence,
the water is not allowed to wet the surface and is easily displaced (Figure 2).

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

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Fig 2: The unique roughness of superhydrophobic surface forces water droplets into spherical
drops that minimize contact with the surface, rolling off easily and carrying away dirt and
other debris, leaving the surface clean. (right) Water drops roll off a screen door treated with
a superhydrophobic powder coating developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Even
though the mesh is porous, water drops do not pass through due to the extreme water
repellency of the powder coating

The waxy material on the surface of lotus leaves is hydrophobic. "Hydro" means water and
"phobos" means fear in Greek. A material said to be hydrophobic if it does not like water, or
depending on the point of view, water does not like it. Because of this property, water
molecules tend to cluster together to form a droplet on a hydrophobic surface. In this way,
water molecules will stay close to each other and far away from the hydrophobic surface.
This water-hating effect of lotus leaves can be regarded

as a chemical effect.

When a water droplet is in contact with a surface, the shape of the droplet may change
depending on the nature of the surface. The water may spread onto the surface, making it
"wet". In this case, the angle between the surface and the tangent of the water's surface is
small, typically less than 80o (Fig. 3a). The surface is called hydrophilic or "water-loving".
The angle is called the "contact angle". A smaller angle implies that water tends to spread
onto the surface. Another scenario is that water clusters together and does not spread on the
surface, so the surface does not get "wet". In this case the contact angle is greater than 80 o
(Fig. 3b). The surface is called hydrophobic or water-hating, as discussed above.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

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Fig 3: Water spreading over a hydrophilic surface. (b) Water forming a droplet on a
hydrophobic surface

The reason why a surface is hydrophilic or hydrophobic is quite involved. It should be noted
that two different materials or phases are separated by an interface. Here we have three
materials: water, air, and the surface. Thus we have three surfaces between (i) air and water,
(ii) air and the surface, and (iii) water and the surface. Whether the surface is hydrophilic or
hydrophobic is determined by the competitions among the surface tensions of these three
surfaces.

Adding bumps onto a flat hydrophobic surface can turn it into a super-hydrophobic surface,
characterized by a large contact angle (Fig. 3b). This is a physical effect, as the contact
between water and the surface is reduced by the bumpy surface and the water droplets
become more spherical in shape and easier to roll off the surface. Therefore, different degrees
of hydrophobicity can be engineered by modifying the roughness of the surface. Fig. 5
summarizes the four different scenes

Fig 4: Hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
The surface of a lotus leaf is an example of super hydrophobicity. On a super hydrophobic
surface, the contact angle is greater than 150o, meaning almost no wetting of the surface by
the liquid takes place. This leads to the second property associated with lotus plants — the
ability to stay spotlessly clean. As rain falls on a super hydrophobic surface like the lotus leaf,
the water droplets roll easily off the leaf surfaces. As the droplets travel along the leaves, they
pick up any dirt or other matter they encounter along the way. This process keeps the lotus
leaves dry, clean and free of pathogens such as bacteria and fungi.

The self-cleaning and water-repellent qualities of super hydrophobic surfaces have the
potential for many practical applications. House paints, roof tiles and various surface
coatings are already on the market. These products are examples of "biomimicry." By
understanding how the lotus leaf and other plants create super hydrophobic surfaces by using
a two-tiered surface layer, engineers have created human-made surfaces that "mimic" the
properties of the natural ones. One of the most interesting uses of human-made super
hydrophobic surfaces are fabrics that repel tomato sauce, coffee and even red wine.
Researchers are also developing fabrics that can stay dry for days under water, swimsuits that
cannot become wet, and ship hulls with dramatically reduced drag.

Engineering Connection

Inspired by nature, the self-cleaning super hydrophobic products being engineered today are
destined to become important and novel products in our everyday lives. Some products
include: coatings that reduce the water drag on boats and protect surfaces and equipment
exposed to fresh or salt water, building materials that remain clean with little maintenance
and are better protected from wear from the elements, and textiles that are resistant to staining
and/or remain dry when submerged in water.

Echolocation of bats and whales (Ultrasonography)

Echolocation is a method of sensory perception by which certain animals orient themselves to

their surroundings, detect obstacles, communicate with others etc. In simple terms
Echolocation is the use of sound waves and echoes to determine where objects are in space.

Bats use echolocation to navigate and find food in the dark. To echolocate, bats send out
sound waves from their mouth or nose. When the sound waves hit an object they produce
echoes. The echo bounces of the object and returns to the bats ears. Bats listen to the echoes
to figure out where the object is, how big it is, and its shape. Using echolocation, bats can
detect objects as thin as a human hair in complete darkness. Echolocation allows bats to find
insects the size of mosquitoes, which many bats like to eat.

Dolphins, whales, shrews and some birds use echolocation to navigate and find food. There
are even some blind people that have learned to use echolocation to navigate within their
surroundings.

Humans cannot hear ultrasonic sounds made by echolocating bats. But there are some insects
that can hear these ultrasonic sounds. These insects include some moths, beetles, and crickets.
Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE
Email: [email protected]
When moths hear an echolocating bat, some will turn and fly away. Others will start flying in
a zigzag, spiral, or looping pattern to avoid being eaten by the bat. Some crickets and beetles
are known to make clicking sounds that startle the bat and scare it off thus avoiding being
eaten.

Just like bat echolocation, sonar uses sound waves to navigate and determine the location of
objects like submarines and ships. Only sonar is used underwater, while bats echolocate in
the open air. Radar uses electromagnetic waves to determine the location of objects like
planes and ships. Like bat echolocation, radar is also used on open air.

Sonar is simply making use of an echo. When an animal or machine makes a noise, it sends
sound waves into the environment around it. Those waves bounce off nearby objects, and
some of them reflect back to the object that made the noise. It's those reflected sound waves
that you hear when your voice echoes back to you from a canyon. Whales and specialized
machines can use reflected waves to locate distant objects and sense their shape and
movement.

The range of low-frequency sonar is remarkable. Dolphins and whales can tell the difference
between objects from 50 feet (15 meters) away, and they use sonar much more than sight to
find their food, families, and direction. The LFA sonar being tested by the military can travel
thousands of miles, and could cover 80% of the earth's oceans by broadcasting from only four
points. The frequency that both whales and the military use falls between 100 and 500 Hz.
Whales send signals out between 160 and 190 Db, the Navy has tested its sonar signals at
levels up to 235 Db

Diagnostic sonography (ultrasonography) is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging

technique used for visualizing subcutaneous body structures including tendons, muscles,
joints, vessels and internal organs for possible pathology or lesions.

In physics, 'ultrasound' refers to sound waves with a frequency too high for humans to hear.
Although this limit varies from person to person, it is approximely 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz)
in healthy, young adults. Ultrasound devices operate with frequencies from 20 kHz up to
several gigahertzes.

Ultrasound images (sonograms) are made by sending a pulse of ultrasound into tissue using
an ultrasound transducer (probe). The sound reflects and echoes off parts of the tissue; this
echo is recorded and displayed as an image to the operator.

Compared to other prominent methods of medical imaging, ultrasonography has several

advantages. It provides images in real-time (rather than after an acquisition or processing
delay), it is portable and can be brought to a sick patient's bedside, it is substantially lower in
cost, and it does not use harmful ionizing radiation. Drawbacks of ultrasonography include
various limits on its field of view including difficulty imaging structures behind bone, and its
relative dependence on a skilled operator.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
A general-purpose sonographic machine may be used for most imaging purposes. Usually
specialty applications may be served only by use of a specialty transducer. Most ultrasound
procedures are done using a transducer on the surface of the body, but improved diagnostic
confidence is often possible if a transducer can be placed inside the body. For this purpose,
specialty transducers, including endovaginal, endorectal, and transesophageal transducers are
commonly employed. At the extreme of this, very small transducers can be mounted on small
diameter catheters and placed into blood vessels to image the walls and disease of those
vessels.

A sonogram (not to be confused with an ultrasound scan) uses the reflections of high-
frequency sound waves to construct an image of a body organ.

From sound to image

The creation of an image from sound is done in three steps – producing a sound wave,
receiving echoes, and interpreting those echoes.

Producing a sound wave

A sound wave is typically produced by a piezoelectric transducer encased in a housing which

can take a number of forms. Strong, short electrical pulses from the ultrasound machine make
the transducer ring at the desired frequency. The frequencies can be anywhere between 2 and
18 MHz. The sound is focused either by the shape of the transducer, a lens in front of the
transducer, or a complex set of control pulses from the ultrasound scanner machine (Beam
forming). This focusing produces an arc-shaped sound wave from the face of the transducer.
The wave travels into the body and comes into focus at a desired depth. The sound wave is
partially reflected from the layers between different tissues. Specifically, sound is reflected
anywhere there are density changes in the body: e.g. blood cells in blood plasma, small
structures in organs, etc. Some of the reflections return to the transducer.

Receiving the echoes

The return of the sound wave to the transducer results in the same process that it took to send
the sound wave, except in reverse. The return sound wave vibrates the transducer, the
transducer turns the vibrations into electrical pulses that travel to the ultrasonic scanner where
they are processed and transformed into a digital image.

Forming the image

The sonographic scanner must determine three things from each received echo:

1. How long it took the echo to be received from when the sound was transmitted.

2. From this the focal length for the phased array is deduced, enabling a sharp image of that
echo at that depth (this is not possible while producing a sound wave).

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
3. How strong the echo was. It could be noted that sound wave is not a click, but a pulse with
a specific carrier frequency. Moving objects change this frequency on reflection, so that it is
only a matter of electronics to have simultaneous Doppler sonography.

4. Once the ultrasonic scanner determines these three things, it can locate which pixel in the
image to light up and to what intensity and at what hue if frequency is processed (see redshift
for a natural mapping to hue).

Therapeutic applications of ultrasound

● Ultrasound is sometimes used to clean teeth in dental hygiene.

● Ultrasound sources may be used to generate regional heating and mechanical changes
in biological tissue, e.g. in occupational therapy, physical therapy and cancer
treatment. However the use of ultrasound in the treatment of musculoskeletal
conditions has fallen out of favor.
● Focused ultrasound may be used to generate highly localized heating to treat cysts and
tumors (benign or malignant), This is known as Focused Ultrasound Surgery (FUS) or
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). These procedures generally use lower
frequencies than medical diagnostic ultrasound (from 0.250 to 2 MHz), but
significantly higher energies. HIFU treatment is often guided by MRI.
● Focused ultrasound may be used to break up kidney stones by lithotripsy.

● Ultrasound may be used for cataract treatment by phacoemulsification.

● Additional physiological effects of low-intensity ultrasound have recently been

discovered, e.g. its ability to stimulate bone-growth and its potential to disrupt the
blood–brain barrier for drug delivery.

Plant burrs (Velcro).

In 1941 a Swiss engineer named George de Mestral was hunting in the Jura mountains in
Switzerland when he noticed small burrs from what was later identified the Burdock plant
stuck to his pant legs and covering his dog’s fur. He and his dog had been traversing
riverbanks where Burdock typically grows wild (it does well in disturbed habitats where it
can self-seed, and propagates its seeds through burrs that get stuck and distributed by the fur
of passing animals). De Mestral wondered how the tiny hooks of the cockle-burs (the seed
packets produced by Burdock, which are covered with stiff spines) were sticking to him. He
took the specimen home and examined the tiny hooks at the ends of the burr’s projections
under a microscope, and he observed that they had very tiny hooks which allowed the seeds
to catch on to things like fabrics, which have tiny loops that inspired him to consider: could a
series of small scale, interlocking hooks have a practical application in attire? The burrs, after
all, had clung to de Mestral’s pant leg in a manner that seemed to defy gravity– and they

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
persisted even after his dog rolled around in the grass.  De Mestral was inspired to model the
configuration for use clothing.

Hook and loop fasteners have been common for hundreds of years, but up this point no one
had ever made a hook and loop fastener on the tiny scale of these burdock plant burrs.  Not to
be deterred by the difficulty in making hooks that small, de Mestral then set about trying to
replicate these hooks to try to make a material that could easily “stick” and be removed,
principally initially having in mind creating a “zipperless zipper”.

Burdock seed

His first prototype for Velcro was using two cotton strips, with one of the strips having
hundreds of randomly situated tiny hooks embedded.  The random placement would allow
the hooks to be more likely to find a loop in the fabric with the loops also randomly sewn in. 
This worked well at first, but the cotton hooks didn’t stand up over many detachments.  After
developing many different methods for creating the tiny hooks and loops, he eventually found
that heat treated nylon worked best for his product, being very durable, and that he could
more easily create the hooks by simply making both sides of the material with the loops, then
cutting the tops off the loops.

Silk from insects and spiders (High performance fibers and flexible medical tapes)

One major application of biomimetics is the field of biomaterials, which involves mimicking
or synthesizing natural materials, and applying this to practical design. There are many
examples of materials in nature that exhibit unique useful properties. One of the major
advantages of biomaterials is that they are normally biodegradeable. In addition, the extreme
temperatures and hazardous chemicals often used in manmade construction are usually
unnecessary with natural alternatives

Spider silk produced by special glands in a spider’s body, has the advantage of being both
light and flexible, and pound for pound is roughly three times stronger than steel: the tensile
strength of the radial threads of spider silk is is 1,154 Mpa while steel is 400 Mpa. But unlike
steel, spider silk is both flexible and lightweight. Spiders can even spin silk that is either
sticky, to catch prey, or non-sticky, so that they can use it for pathways. Scientists recently
created a new type of medical tape based on the attributes of spider silk.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
When people accidentally walk into a web, they often have to spend quite a bit of time
peeling the slinky threads from their hair, skin, and clothing. That familiar and bothersome
experience highlights some of spider silk’s most noteworthy features, Dhinojwala says. The
micrometer-thin fibers are almost invisible, yet they are sufficiently strong, stretchy, and
sticky to catch and hold insects—and cling to people.

Due to its high toughness, spider silk has caught the attention of material scientists and
biotechnologists as a possible prototype for developing new biological materials for textile
industry and medicine

Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protozoan use the
light energy from sunlight to produce chemical energy. This chemical energy is stored in
carbohydrate molecules, such as sugars, which are synthesized from carbon dioxide and
water in most cases, oxygen is released as a waste product. Most plants, most algae, and
cyanobacteria perform photosynthesis; such organisms are called photoautotroph.
Photosynthesis is largely responsible for producing and maintaining the oxygen content of the
Earth's atmosphere, and supplies all of the organic compounds and most of the energy
necessary for life on Earth. The process always begins when energy from light is absorbed by
proteins called reaction centers that contain green chlorophyll pigments. In plants, these
proteins are held inside organelles called chloroplasts, which are most abundant in leaf cells.
In light-dependent reactions, some energy is used to strip electrons from suitable substances,
such as water, producing oxygen gas. The hydrogen freed by the splitting of water is used in
the creation of two further compounds that act as an immediate energy storage means:
reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and adenosine triphosphate
(ATP), the "energy currency" of cells.

Process of Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis in plants occurs in two stages. These stages are known as the light-dependent
reactions and the light-independent reactions. In the first stage, light-dependent reactions or
light reactions capture the energy of light and use it to make the energy-storage molecules
ATP and NADPH. During the second stage, the light-independent reactions or Dark
Reactions use these products to capture and reduce carbon dioxide to form further
carbohydrates, such as sugars.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

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.

The typical plant leaf includes the following

● Upper and lower epidermis – the upper epidermis is the outer layer of the cells that
controls the amount of water that is lost through transpiration.
● Stomata – these are pores (holes) in the leaves that are responsible for the exchange of
gases between the plant leaves and the atmosphere.  Carbon dioxide is absorbed from
the atmosphere and oxygen is released.
● Mesophyll – these are photosynthetic (parenchyma) cells that are located between the
upper and lower epidermis. These cells contain the chloroplasts.

Vascular bundle – these are tissues that form part of the transport system of the plant.
Vascular bundles consist of xylem and phloem vessels which transport water, dissolved
minerals and food to and from the leaves.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

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Structure of Plant Leaf

CHLOROPLAST:
In plants photosynthesis takes place in organelles called chloroplasts. A typical plant cell
contains about 10 to 100 chloroplasts. The chloroplast is enclosed by a membrane. This
membrane is composed of a phospholipid inner membrane, a phospholipid outer membrane,
and an intermembrane space. Enclosed by the membrane is an aqueous fluid called the
stroma. Embedded within the stroma are stacks of thylakoids (grana), which are the site of
photosynthesis. The thylakoids appear as flattened disks. The thylakoid is enclosed by the
thylakoid membrane, in which complexes of the photosynthetic system are embedded.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

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Chloroplast ultrastructure:
1. outer membrane
2. intermembrane space
3. inner membrane (1+2+3: envelope)
4. stroma (aqueous fluid)
5. thylakoid lumen (inside of thylakoid)
6. thylakoid membrane
7. granum (stack of thylakoids)
8. thylakoid (lamella)
9. starch
10. ribosome
11. plastidial DNA
12. plastoglobule (drop of lipids)

Light-dependent Reactions
The first stage of photosynthesis is the light dependent reactions.  The cyclic and non-
cyclic reactions take place on the thylakoid membrane inside the chloroplast.  During this
stage light energy is converted to ATP (chemical energy) and NADPH (reducing power).

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

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In the light-dependent reactions, one molecule of the pigment chlorophyll absorbs one photon
and loses one electron. This electron is passed to a modified form of chlorophyll called
pheophytin, which passes the electron to a quinone molecule, starting the flow of electrons
down an electron transport chain that leads to the ultimate reduction of NADP to NADPH. In
addition, this creates a proton gradient (energy gradient) across the chloroplast membrane,
which is used by ATP synthase in the synthesis of ATP. The chlorophyll molecule ultimately
regains the electron it lost when a water molecule is split in a process called photolysis,
which releases a dioxygen (O2) molecule as a waste product.

The overall equation for the light-dependent reactions under the conditions of non-cyclic
electron flow in green plants is:

2 H2O + 2 NADP+ + 3 ADP + 3 Pi + light → 2 NADPH + 2 H+ + 3 ATP + O2

In the non-cyclic reaction, the photons are captured in the light-harvesting antenna complexes
of photosystem II by chlorophyll and other accessory pigments and electron is free. That
freed electron is transferred to the primary electron-acceptor molecule, pheophytin. As the
electrons are shuttled through an electron transport chain (the so-called Z-scheme shown in
the diagram), it initially functions to generate a chemiosmotic potential by pumping proton
cations (H+) across the membrane and into the thylakoid space. An ATP synthase enzyme
uses that chemiosmotic potential to make ATP during photophosphorylation, whereas
NADPH is a product of the terminal redox reaction in the Z-scheme. The electron enters a
chlorophyll molecule in Photosystem I. There it is further excited by the light absorbed by
that photosystem. The electron is then passed along a chain of electron acceptors to which it
transfers some of its energy. The energy delivered to the electron acceptors is used to move
hydrogen ions across the thylakoid membrane into the lumen. The electron is eventually used
to reduce the co-enzyme NADP with a H + to NADPH (which has functions in the light-
independent reaction); at that point, the path of that electron ends.
The cyclic reaction is similar to that of the non-cyclic, but differs in that it generates only
ATP, and no reduced NADP (NADPH) is created. The cyclic reaction takes place only at
photosystem I. Once the electron is displaced from the photosystem, the electron is passed
down the electron acceptor molecules and returns to photosystem I, from where it was
emitted, hence the name cyclic reaction.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
The NADPH is the main reducing agent produced by chloroplasts, which then goes on to
provide a source of energetic electrons in other cellular reactions. Its production leaves
chlorophyll in photosystem I with a deficit of electrons (chlorophyll has been oxidized),
which must be balanced by some other reducing agent that will supply the missing electron.
The excited electrons lost from chlorophyll from photosystem I are supplied from the
electron transport chain by plastocyanin. However, since photosystem II is the first step of the
Z-scheme, an external source of electrons is required to reduce its oxidized chlorophyll a
molecules. The source of electrons in green-plant and cyanobacterial photosynthesis is water.
Two water molecules are oxidized by four successive charge-separation reactions by
photosystem II to yield a molecule of diatomic oxygen and four hydrogen ions; the electrons
yielded are transferred to a redox-active tyrosine residue that then reduces the oxidized
chlorophyll a (called P680) that serves as the primary light-driven electron donor in the
photosystem II reaction center. That photo receptor is in effect reset and is then able to repeat
the absorption of another photon and the release of another photo-dissociated electron. The
oxidation of water is catalyzed in photosystem II by a redox-active structure that contains
four manganese ions and a calcium ion; this oxygen-evolving complex binds two water
molecules and contains the four oxidizing equivalents that are used to drive the water-
oxidizing reaction. Photosystem II is the only known biological enzyme that carries out this
oxidation of water. The hydrogen ions released contribute to the transmembrane
chemiosmotic potential that leads to ATP synthesis. Oxygen is a waste product of light-
dependent reactions, but the majority of organisms on Earth use oxygen for cellular
respiration, including photosynthetic organisms.
In plants and algae, photosynthesis takes place in organelles called chloroplasts. A typical
plant cell contains about 10 to 100 chloroplasts. The chloroplast is enclosed by a membrane.
This membrane is composed of a phospholipid inner membrane, a phospholipid outer
membrane, and an intermembrane space. Enclosed by the membrane is an aqueous fluid
called the stroma. Embedded within the stroma are stacks of thylakoids (grana), which are the
site of photosynthesis. The thylakoids appear as flattened disks. The thylakoid itself is
enclosed by the thylakoid membrane, and within the enclosed volume is a lumen or thylakoid
space. Embedded in the thylakoid membrane are integral and peripheral membrane protein
complexes of the photosynthetic system.
 

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

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 ●

Light is absorbed by two Photosystems called Photosystem I (PSI) and Photosystem II

(PSII).  These protein complexes contain light harvesting chlorophyll molecules and
accessory pigments called antenna complexes. The photosystems are also equipped with
reactions centers (RC).  These are complexes of proteins and pigments which are responsible
for energy conversion.  The chlorophyll molecules of PSI absorb light with a peak
Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE
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wavelength of 700nm and are called P700 molecules.  The chlorophyll molecules of PSII
absorb light with a peak wavelength of 68Onm and are called P68O molecules. The light
dependent reactions begin in PSII.

● A photon of light is absorbed by a P680 chlorophyll molecule in the light harvesting

complex of PSII.
● The energy that is generated from the light is passed from one P680 chlorophyll
molecule to another until it reaches the reaction center (RC) of PSII.
● At the RC is a pair of P680 chlorophyll molecules.  An electron in the chlorophyll
molecules becomes excited as a result of a higher level of energy.  The excited
electron becomes unstable and is released. Another electron is released following the
capture of another photon of light by the light harvesting complex and the transfer of
energy to the reaction center.
● The electrons are transported in a chain of protein complexes and mobile carriers
called an electron transport chain (ETC). Plastoquinone is the mobile carrier that
transports the electrons from the reaction center of PSII to the Cytochrome b6f
Complex as shown in the diagram above.
● The electrons lost from PSII are replaced by splitting water with light in a process
called Photolysis.  Water is used as the electron donor in oxygenic photosynthesis and
is split into electrons (e-), hydrogen ions (H+, protons) and oxygen (O2). The
hydrogen ions and oxygen are released into the thylakoid lumen. Oxygen is later
released into the atmosphere as a by-product of photosynthesis.
● While the electrons pass through the ETC via Plastoquinone,  hydrogen ions (protons)
from the stroma are also tranferred and released into the thylakoid lumen.  This results
in a higher concentration of hydrogen ions (proton gradient) in the lumen.
● As a result of the proton gradient in the lumen, hydrogen ions are transferred to ATP
synthase and provide the energy needed for combining ADP and Pi to produce ATP.
● Cytochrome b6f transfers the electrons to Plastocyanin which then transports them to
Photosystem I. 

The electrons have now arrived at PSI.

● They again receive energy, but this time from light absorbed by P700 chlorophyll
molecules.
● The electrons are transferred to mobile carrier, ferredoxin.

● They are then transported to ferredixin NADP reductase (FNR), which is the final
electron acceptor.  At this point the electrons and a hydrogen ion are combined with
NADP+ to produce NADPH.
● The lost electrons from PSI are replaced by electrons from PSII via the electron
transport chain.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
Summary of Light-dependent Reactions

Flow of Electrons

Photosystem II —–> b6-f complex —–> Photosystem I —-> NADP reductase

Role of Photolysis

Utilizes light to split water into the following:

● Electrons – donated to PSII to replace lost electrons

● Hydrogen ions – carried to ATP synthase to provide energy for the production of ATP

● Oxygen – released into the atmosphere as a by-product

Products

● ATP – chemical energy

● NADPH – reducing power/electron donor

Light-independent reactions also term as dark reaction:

In plants, long-term energy storage in the form of sugars is produced by a subsequent

sequence of light-independent reactions called the Calvin cycle. In the Calvin cycle,
atmospheric carbon dioxide is incorporated into already existing organic carbon compounds,
such as ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP). Using the ATP and NADPH produced by the light-
dependent reactions, the resulting compounds are then reduced and removed to form further
carbohydrates, such as glucose.

Carbon dioxide is converted into sugars in a process called carbon fixation. Photosynthesis
provides the energy in the form of free electrons that are used to split carbon from carbon
dioxide that is then used to fix that carbon once again as carbohydrate. Carbon fixation is an
endothermic redox reaction, so photosynthesis supplies the energy that drives both process.
The general equation for photosynthesis as first proposed by Cornelius van Niel is therefore.

CO2 + 2H2A + photons → [CH2O] + 2A + H2O

carbon dioxide + electron donor + light energy → carbohydrate + oxidized
electron donor + water

Since water is used as the electron donor in oxygenic photosynthesis, the equation for this
process is:

CO2 + 2H2O + photons → [CH2O] + O2 + H2O

carbon dioxide + water + light energy → carbohydrate + oxygen + water

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
This equation emphasizes that water is both a reactant in the light-dependent reaction and a
product of the light-independent reaction, but canceling n water molecules from each side
gives the net equation:

CO2 + H2O + photons → [CH2O] + O2

carbon dioxide + water + light energy → carbohydrate + oxygen

Calvin cycle
Main articles: Calvin cycle, Carbon fixation, and Light-independent reactions

In the light-independent (or "dark") reactions, the enzyme RuBisCO captures CO2 from the
atmosphere and, in a process called the Calvin-Benson cycle, it uses the newly formed
NADPH and releases three-carbon sugars, which are later combined to form sucrose and
starch. The overall equation for the light-independent reactions in green plants is[24]:128
3 CO2 + 9 ATP + 6 NADPH + 6 H + → C3H6O3-phosphate + 9 ADP + 8 Pi + 6 NADP+
+ 3 H2O

Overview of the Calvin cycle and carbon fixation

Carbon fixation produces the intermediate three-carbon sugar product, which is then
converted to the final carbohydrate products. The simple carbon sugars produced by
photosynthesis are then used in the forming of other organic compounds, such as the building
material cellulose, the precursors for lipid and amino acid biosynthesis, or as a fuel in cellular
respiration. The latter occurs not only in plants but also in animals when the energy from
plants is passed through a food chain.
The fixation or reduction of carbon dioxide is a process in which carbon dioxide combines
with a five-carbon sugar, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate, to yield two molecules of a three-carbon
compound, glycerate 3-phosphate, also known as 3-phosphoglycerate. Glycerate 3-phosphate,
Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE
Email: [email protected]
in the presence of ATP and NADPH produced during the light-dependent stages, is reduced
to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. This product is also referred to as 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde
(PGAL) or, more generically, as triose phosphate. Most (5 out of 6 molecules) of the
glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate produced is used to regenerate ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate so the
process can continue. The triose phosphates not thus "recycled" often condense to form
hexose phosphates, which ultimately yield sucrose, starch and cellulose. The sugars produced
during carbon metabolism yield carbon skeletons that can be used for other metabolic
reactions like the production of amino acids and lipids.
Photovoltaics (PV)

The growing demand for renewable energy sources has considerably advanced the
manufacturing of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays. Solar photovoltaic power generation is a
clean energy technology which draws upon the planet’s most plentiful and widely distributed
renewable energy source – the sun. Solar PV has specific advantages as an energy source: its
operation generates no pollution and no greenhouse gas emissions once installed, it shows
simple scalability in respect of power needs and silicon has large availability in the Earth’s
crust.
The Photovoltaics (PV) means conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting
materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. A typical photovoltaic system employs solar
panels, each comprising a number of solar cells mostly made up of silicon, which generate
electrical power. Cells require protection from the environment and are usually packaged
tightly in solar panels. The Copper solar cables connect modules (module cable), arrays
(array cable), and sub-fields.
The most commonly known solar cell is configured as a large-area p–n junction. made from
silicon. Solar cells are made of semiconducting material. These materials must have certain
characteristics in order to absorb sunlight. Other possible solar cell types are organic solar
cells, dye sensitized solar cells, perovskite solar cells, quantum dot solar cells etc. The
illuminated side of a solar cell generally has a transparent conducting film for allowing light
to enter into active material and to collect the generated charge carriers. The films is with
high transmittance and high electrical conductance such as of indium tin oxide, conducting
polymers or conducting nanowire networks. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar
panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material.

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
The PV installations may be ground-mounted, rooftop mounted or wall mounted. The mount
may be fixed, or use a solar tracker to follow the sun across the sky.
Some cells are designed to handle sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface, while others are
optimized for use in space. Solar cells can be made of only one single layer of light-absorbing
material (single-junction) or use multiple physical configurations (multi-junctions) to take
advantage of various absorption and charge separation mechanisms.
Solar cells can be classified into first, second and third generation cells. The first generation
cells—also called conventional, traditional or wafer-based cells—are made of crystalline
silicon, the commercially predominant PV technology, that includes materials such as
polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon. Second generation cells are thin film solar cells, that
include amorphous silicon, CdTe and CIGS cells and are commercially significant in utility-
scale photovoltaic power stations, building integrated photovoltaics or in small stand-alone
power system. The third generation of solar cells includes a number of thin-film technologies
often described as emerging photovoltaics—most of them have not yet been commercially
applied and are still in the research or development phase.
The Cells, modules, panels and systems
Multiple solar cells in an integrated group, all oriented in one plane, constitute a solar
photovoltaic panel or solar photovoltaic module. Photovoltaic modules often have a sheet of
glass on the sun-facing side, allowing light to pass while protecting the semiconductor
wafers. Solar cells are usually connected in series and parallel circuits or series in modules,
creating an additive voltage. Connecting cells in parallel yields a higher current. The
individual power boxes are mostly supplied for each module and connected in parallel.
Although modules can be interconnected to create an array with the desired peak DC voltage
and loading current capacity, using independent MPPTs (maximum power point trackers).

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
Working mechanism of a solar cell:

The solar cell works in several steps:

● The electrical efficiency of a PV cell is a physical property which represents how

much electrical power a cell can produce.
● Photon in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed by semiconducting materials,
such as silicon.
● Electrons are excited from their current molecular/atomic orbital. Once excited an
electron can either dissipate the energy as heat and return to its orbital or travel
through the cell until it reaches an electrode. Current flows through the material to
cancel the potential and this electricity is captured.
● An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a usable amount of direct current
(DC) electricity.
● An inverter can convert the power to alternating current (AC).

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
 Bionic Leaf

Bionic Leaf Turns Sunlight, Water and Air into Liquid Fuel.

The tree leaf, a blade of grass, a single algal cell all make fuel from the simple combination
of water, sunlight and carbon dioxide through the miracle process of photosynthesis. The
scientists have replicated and improved this trick by combining chemistry and biology in a
"bionic" leaf. A biological process that makes chemicals or liquid fuels directly from solar
cells. This proof of concept offers a new way to think about renewable energy. “This is a true
artificial photosynthesis system,”

A team of scientists from Harvard University and of Harvard Medical School has crafted a
kind of living battery, which they call a bionic leaf for its melding of biology and technology.
A cross-disciplinary team at Harvard University has created a system that uses solar energy to
split water molecules and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels.

The Process of alcohol production:

● A photovoltaic panel device uses solar energy to generate electricity

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE
Email: [email protected]
 ● The electricity power the chemistry that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen

● An alloy of cobalt and phosphorus works as catalyst.

● The added microbes feed on the hydrogen

● The hydrogen convert CO2 present in the air into alcohol fuels.

“In principle, just by following the process of photosynthesis we have a platform that can
make any carbon-based molecule using H + generated by photolysis of water; as plants are
producing a range of organic compound. This has the potential to be incredibly versatile to
have variety of organic compounds by making use of sunlight, water and CO 2 from air. The
process can have additives like catalyst or microorganisms based on product requirement.

Photosynthesis (PV cells and Bionic leaf)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rsYk4eCKnA

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RjGHmlOu58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J556uXwrjII

Lotus leaf effect (super hydrophobic and self cleaning surfaces)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF4blivJQ6o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfcNlsgFL0c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeJz7iPPy1Y

Plant burrs (velcro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbZmcm8ybQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpyqIC6uDNQ

Bird flying (aircrafts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p7CCX-xWXo&list=PL2EA68E384A69D270

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl1hGNmbg2Q

Echolocation (ultrasonography, sonars)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-cRfz8Oems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH35b1lKQTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_mEFtOGESA

Sumathra Manokaran, Asst. Prof., Department of Biotechnology, RVCE

Email: [email protected]