Effect of Photo-Oxidation on Energy Transfer in Light Harvesting Complex (LH2) from Rhodobacter Sphaeroides 601

We study the photo-oxidation of bacteriochlorophylls (BChls) in peripheral light harvesting complexes (LH2) from rhodobacter sphaeroides by using the steady absorption and the femtosecond pump–probe measurement, to realize the detailed dynamics of LH2 in the presence of photo-oxidation. The experimental results reveal that BChl-B850 radical cations may act as an additional channel to compete with the unoxidized BChl-B850 molecules for rapidly releasing the excitation energy, while the B800→B850 energy transfer rate is almost unaffected in the oxidation process.