Photoelectrical properties of protein-based optoelectronic sensor

Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) has been studied as a biomaterial for molecular computing applications. Thin film elements based on BR in polyvinylalcohol were prepared to determine the photoelectrical properties of the material for the development of an optoelectronic sensor. The properties were studied by registering the photovoltage in time, measuring the intensity, area and wavelength dependence of the photoelectric response, and evaluating the element quality. The thin film elements produce a stable photovoltage, the intensity and area dependencies are close to linear, and the wavelength dependence is closely related to the absorption spectrum of BR. The homogeneity of the element thin films is good based on the relatively small variance of the photoelectric response, thus it is feasible to continue the development of an artificial retina based on BR.