Artificial organelles for enzymatic cofactor reduction
AssigneeEnsovi, Inc.
InventorsKyle A Minor, Carlo D. Montemagno, David W. Wendell
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Abstract
Described herein are engineered organelles comprising multi-component proteins from different species incorporated into a membrane structure with interior and exterior aspects. In one embodiment the artificial organelle incorporates one or more protein complexes that absorb optical energy and catalyze electron transfer in biochemical reactions that can be used to reduce NAD+ to NADH or analogues thereof.
Claims21
A method or means for converting light energy and water into oxygen and reduced NADH, NADPH, or analogues thereof using artificial photosynthesis in an artificial cell free system, the method comprising:
- (a) providing an artificial cell free organelle system comprising:
- a membrane having two sides comprising an inner surface in contact with an inner aqueous medium and an outer surface in contact with an outer aqueous medium;
- one or more photosynthetic proteins comprising photosystem II or bacteriorhodopsin vectorially embedded within and traversing the membrane;
- one or more oxidoreductase proteins comprising Respiratory Complex I vectorially embedded within and traversing the membrane;
- ubiquinone or an analogue thereof;
- NAD+, NADP+or an analogue thereof;
- water, and
- a photon energy source;
- (b) directing one or more photons to the one or more photosynthetic proteins;
- (c) the one or more photosynthetic proteins catalyzes the electron transfer from photon energy to ubiquinone or an analogue thereof, generating ubiquinol or an analogue thereof;
- and
- (d) the one or more oxidoreductase proteins catalyzes the electron transfer from ubiquinol or an analogue thereof to NAD+, NADP+, or analogues thereof, producing NADH, NADPH, or analogues thereof, and oxidizing ubiquinol or analogue thereof to ubiquinone or an analogue thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.