Device with biological component and method of making to achieve a desired figure of merit

• US 20100233749A1
• Filed: 06/26/2006
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jeffrey T. Labelle, Vincent B. Pizziconi
• Original Assignee: Jeffrey T. Labelle, Vincent B. Pizziconi
• Inventors: LaBelle, Jeffrey T., Pizziconi, Vincent B.
• Application Number:
  US11/475,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20100233749A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/29
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/168 Specific optical properties, e.g. reflective coatings
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5085 for multiple samples, e.g. microtitration plates
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/31 Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry G01N21/72 takes precedence

Abstract

An improved method for the design and development of high performance hybrid devices having biologically-derived and nonbiological components and the hybrid devices so-designed and developed. A desired figure of merit is determined for the biologically-derived component or components. The organism from which the biologically-derived component is derived is subjected to various environmental variables as it is grown. Organisms providing biologically-derived components having the desired figure of merit are identified. The biologically-derived component is thereafter developed from organisms force adapted to cause the biologically-derived component figure of merit to reach a goal or an acceptable measure. The biological component is used in hybrid constructs that may be nanostructures, given the small size of the biological parts. In one specific embodiment, force-adapted chlorosomes of Chloroflexus aurantiacus (C. aurantiacus) enhance performance of a silicon photovoltaic cell. The bacteria, C. aurantiacus, strain J-10-f1, has the A.T.C.C. designation number 29366, having been deposited in July, 1976.

Claims

1. A method of making a hybrid device comprising:

(a) providing at least one nonbiological energy-interactive material or device;

(b) providing at least one energy interactive, biologically-derived component having a figure of merit equal or greater than a predetermined acceptable figure of merit; and

(c) locating the energy-interactive, biologically-derived component in energy exchanging relation to the nonbiological energy-interactive material or device.

2. The method of making a hybrid device according to claim 1, wherein the biologically-derived component is derived from an adaptable organism, further comprising the steps of:

(d) identifying selected acceptable performance characteristics of the biologically-derived component,

(e) from the selected acceptable performance characteristics of the biologically-derived component calculating the predetermined acceptable figure of merit for the biologically-derived component,

(f) for adaptations of the adaptable organism calculate the figure of merit from measurements of the performance characteristics of the component derived therefrom, and

(g) upon calculating an acceptable figure of merit for particular adaptations of the biologically-derived component incorporating similar adaptations in deriving the biologically-derived component so as to have substantially that figure of merit or better in the biologically-derived component of the hybrid device.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

(h) force adapting the adaptable organism component to produce the adaptations thereof.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein step (h) comprises force adapting the adaptable organism by varying environmental factors affecting the development of the organism.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein varying environmental factors comprises varying multiple environmental factors as variables in a design of experiment analysis.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein varying the environmental factors comprises developing a group of the adaptable organisms in an environmental chamber having control of the environmental factors for individual test specimens comprising one or more of the organisms.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein varying environmental factors includes varying environmental factors chosen from the group consisting of temperature, illumination, media and duration in and during which the adaptable organisms are grown.

8. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of harvesting the biologically-derived components from adaptable organisms that have been force adapted.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the at least one energy-interactive biologically-derived component comprises providing chlorosomes of Chloroflexus aurantiacus (C. aurantiacus).

10. The method according to claim 3, wherein force adapting comprises force adapting organisms and further comprising harvesting portions of the organisms active in an activity mode of interest for use in the hybrid device.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the organisms are bacteria and the portions of the organisms are selected parts of the bacteria active in the mode of interest.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the parts of the bacteria are chlorosomes.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the bacteria are Chloroflexus aurantiacus (C. aurantiacus) and the parts are RC⁻

chlorosomes.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the figure of merit (FoM is:

$F<br><br><br><br>o<br><br><br><br>M=\frac{\%<br><br><br><br>T_{440<br><br><br><br>\left(\mathrm{Bchl}<br><br><br><br>c<br><br><br><br>\mathrm{Soret}\right)}}{\%<br><br><br><br>T_{440<br><br><br><br>\left(\mathrm{Bchl}<br><br><br><br>c<br><br><br><br>\mathrm{Soret}\right)}+\%<br><br><br><br>T_{460<br><br><br><br>\left(\mathrm{Carotenoid}\right)}}*\frac{\%<br><br><br><br>T_{795<br><br><br><br>\left(\mathrm{Bchl}<br><br><br><br>a<br><br><br><br>\mathrm{Baseplate}\right)}}{\%<br><br><br><br>T_{740<br><br><br><br>\left(\mathrm{Bchl}<br><br><br><br>c<br><br><br><br>\mathrm{Oligomeric}<br><br><br><br>\mathrm{Qy}\right)}}$

where % T_{440 (Bchl c Soret)} is the percentage transmittance of the Bchl c Soret at 440 nm wavelength, % % T_{460 (Carotenoid)} is the percentage transmittance of the carotonoid at 460 nm wavelength, % T_{795 (Bchl a Baseplate)} is the percentage transmittance of the Bchl a Baseplate at 795 nm wavelength and % T_{740 (Bchl c Oligomeric Qy)} is the percentage transmittance of the Bchl c Oligomeric Qy at the 740 nm wavelength.

15. A hybrid device made by the method of any one of claims 1-14.

16. A hybrid device comprising at least one bioengineered energy-interactive, biologically-derived component and at least one energy-interactive, non-biological component in energy exchanging relation to the biologically-derived component, the biologically-derived component having been derived from a force adapted organism to bring the device to substantially a prescribed biohybrid figure of merit or better.

17. The hybrid device according to claim 16, wherein the biologically-derived component has a figure of merit achieved by forced adaptation including varying environmental factors affecting the development of the organism.

18. A hybrid device comprising:

(a) at least one energy-interactive, nonbiological component;

(b) at least one energy-interactive, biologically-derived component having substantially a desired figure of merit or better; and

(c) the nonbiological component and the biologically-derived component being arranged in energy transferring relation.

19. The hybrid device according to claim 18, wherein the biologically-derived component is derived from an adaptable organism force adapted to reach the desired figure of merit.

20. The hybrid device according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the biologically-derived component and the nonbiological component are situated in energy transferring relation to one another.

21. The hybrid device according to claim 20, wherein the biologically-derived component is an energy-interactive part of the adaptable organism.

22. The hybrid device according to claim 21, wherein the energy-interactive part of the adaptable organism is a photo-active part of the organism and the nonbiological component comprises a photo-active semiconductor.