Artificial organelles for enzymatic cofactor reduction

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 a photosystem II complex of proteins or a bacteriorhodopsin vectorially embedded within and traversing the membrane;
• one or more oxidoreductase proteins comprising a Respiratory Complex I complex of proteins vectorially embedded within and traversing the membrane;
• one or more first redox active cofactors comprising ubiquinone or analogues thereof;
• one or more second redox active cofactors comprising NAD+, NADP+ or an analogue thereof;
• water, and
• a photon energy source;
• wherein:
• when one or more photons are directed on the one or more photosynthetic proteins, the one or more photosynthetic proteins harvest energy from the one or more photons and catalyze an oxidation of at least one water molecule in the inner aqueous medium, generating 0.5 equivalents of oxygen gas and yielding up to two protons and two electrons per two photons that are transferred to an oxidized form of the one or more first redox active cofactors, generating a reduced form of the one or more first redox active cofactors;
• accumulation of protons in the inner aqueous medium generates a proton concentration gradient between the inner aqueous medium and the outer aqueous medium;
• and
• the one or more oxidoreductase proteins pump protons from the inner aqueous medium through the membrane to the outer aqueous medium to reduce the proton concentration gradient and simultaneously catalyzes the transfer of electrons from the reduced form of the one or more first redox active cofactors to an oxidized form of the one or more second redox active cofactors, generating a reduced form of the one or more second redox active cofactors and an oxidized form of the one or more first redox active cofactors.