Förster resonance energy transfer in the context of Light-harvesting complex

In biology, a light-harvesting complex, LHC, or antennae complex is an aggregate consisting of proteins bound with chromophores (chlorophylls and carotenoids) that play a key role in photosynthesis. They are one part of a photosystem, together with a reaction center. LHCs are arrayed around photosynthetic reaction centers in both plants and photosynthetic bacteria and collect more of the incoming light than would be captured by the reaction centers alone. The light captured by the chromophores excites molecules from their ground states to (short-lived) higher-energy states, known as the excited states. This energy is then focused toward the reaction centers by Förster resonance energy transfer.

Light-harvesting complexes are found in a wide variety among the different photosynthetic species, with no homology among the major groups.

Cell biophysics (or cellular biophysics) is a sub-field of biophysics that focuses on physical principles underlying cell function. Sub-areas of current interest include statistical models of intracellular signaling dynamics, intracellular transport, cell mechanics (including membrane and cytoskeletal mechanics), molecular motors, biological electricity and genetic network theory. The field has benefited greatly from recent advances in live-cell molecular imaging techniques that allow spatial and temporal measurement of macromolecules and macromolecular function. Specialized imaging methods like FRET, FRAP, photoactivation and single molecule imaging have proven useful for mapping macromolecular transport, dynamic conformational changes in proteins and macromolecular interactions. Super-resolution microscopy allows imaging of cell structures below the optical resolution of light. Combining novel experimental tools with mathematical models grounded in the physical sciences has enabled significant recent breakthroughs in the field. Multiple centers across the world are advancing the research area