Scientists decipher key principle behind reaction of metalloenzymes

cientists decipher key principle behind reaction of metalloenzymes

What enables electrons to be transferred swiftly, for example during photosynthesis? An interdisciplinary team of researchers has worked out the details of how important bioinorganic electron transfer systems operate. Using a combination of very different, time-resolved measurement methods, the scientists were able to show that so-called pre-distorted states can speed up photochemical reactions or make them possible in the first place. The group headed by Sonja Herres-Pawlis from the RWTH Aachen University (RWTH) Michael Rübhausen from the University of Hamburg and Wolfgang Zinth from Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University, is presenting its findings in the journal Nature Chemistry.The scientists had studied the pre-distorted, “entatic” state using a model system. An entatic state is the term used by chemists to refer to the configuration of a molecule in which the normal arrangement of the atoms is modified by external binding partners such that the energy threshold for the desired reaction is lowered, resulting in a higher speed of reaction. One example of this is the metalloprotein plastocyanin, which has a copper atom at its centre and is responsible for important steps in the transfer of electrons during photosynthesis. Depending on its oxidation state, the copper atom either prefers a planar configuration, in which all the surrounding atoms are arranged in the same plane (planar geometry), or a tetrahedral arrangement of the neighbouring ligands. However the binding partner in the protein forces the copper atom to adopt a sort of intermediate arrangement. This highly distorted tetrahedron allows a very rapid shift between the two oxidation states of the copper atom.

ADONIS

From 1st January 2018, the new project of the ELI Beamlines research centre ADONIS has been launched. The name is an abbreviation derived from the title Advanced research using high intensity laser produced photons and particles. The project will run until the end of October 2022 and is funded by the Operational Program Research, Development and Education from the Excellence Research Challenge.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018

WE WISH TO ALL PEOPLE MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018

P3 vacuum chamber for laser-plasma interaction experiments

The P3 vacuum chamber which was transported on a giant truck all the way from Spain to ELI Beamlines arrived in Dolní Břežany today. This unique chamber was constructed by the specialist Spanish company AVS - Added Value Solutions and it will be installed in the experimental hall E3 at ELI Beamlines.

ISAC 2017

The commissioning of the laser system L3-HAPLS at ELI Beamlines has started

The commissioning of the laser system L3-HAPLS at ELI Beamlines has started

Over the past few days, the physical installation of the L3-HAPLS (Advanced Petawatt Laser System) was successfully finished. The L3-HAPLS was delivered from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to ELI Beamlines in Dolní Břežany in June this year. Since the end of September, a joint team of scientific and technical staff from LLNL, the ELI Beamlines center of the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences has worked intensively on the installation of the laser. After the connection and commissioning of cooling, vacuum, electrical and electronic systems of the laser, the first part of the laser chain has been put into operation. The first upgraded part of the L3-HAPLS system consists of an oscillator and a pump laser, which provide pulses with energy of 2 J and a repetition frequency of 10 Hz.

QED cascade with 10 PW-class lasers

Pay attantion to a new article which was written by scientists from ELI Beamlines and published in Scientific Reports.

The largest vacuum compressor in the Czech Republic belongs to ELI Beamlines

On November 1st, 2017, the vacuum compressor of PW laser pulses for the laser system L3 (one of the four lasers at ELI Beamlines) arrived in Dolní Břežany from Brno. It is the largest vacuum opto-mechanical unit ever designed and manufactured in the Czech Republic.

Researchers´ Night at ELI

Jaspers workshop in Brussels

On September 11th- 12th, 2017 the Jaspers Networking Platform organized a Second Extreme Light Infrastructure pillars workshop. The aim of this event is to bring together the main stakeholders from the three ELI-pillar countries for a joint event focused on the current status of the ELI project. It is an opportunity for the different national authorities as well as representatives from the European Commission concerned by the projects to share experience as well as potential issues ahead of the start of operations of the ELI facilities.