加拿大康科迪亚大学近期的一项发明使人们朝着新能源的方向又迈进了一步。 据美国化学日志上报道，科学家们可以把一种形状酷似电池的生化酶通过光合作用而储藏能量的时间从数秒延长至几小时。

 

Concordia Associate Professor László Kálmán -- along with his colleagues in the Department of Physics, graduate students Sasmit Deshmukh and Kai Tang -- has been working with an enzyme found in bacteria that is crucial for capturing solar energy. Light induces a charge separation in the enzyme, causing one end to become negatively charged and the other positively charged, much like in a battery.

 

康大学的副教授László Kálmán，和他在物理系的同事Sasmit Deshmukh 和Kai Tang，共同从一种生化酶中发现了一种对于贮存太阳能至关重要的细菌。太阳光导致这种生化酶分成两种电荷，一端是阴极，一端是阳极，这种构造和电池很相近。

 

In nature, the energy created is used immediately, but Kálmán says that to store that electrical potential, he and his colleagues had to find a way to keep the enzyme in a charge-separated state for a longer period of time.

 

在自然界中，能量一旦产生，就会立刻被消耗掉。但是为了捕获上述电能，Kálmán和他的同事必须保持两级分化的生化酶在较长的一段时间里处于稳定状态。

 

"We had to create a situation where the charges don't want to or are not allowed to go back, and that's what we did in this study," says Kálmán.

 

Kálmán.说：“我们在这项实验里就是负责制造一种状态。在这种状态里，电极不愿或不能回到原来的状态。”

 

Kálmán and his colleagues showed that by adding different molecules, they were able to alter the shape of the enzyme and, thus, extend the lifespan of its electrical potential.

 

In its natural configuration, the enzyme is perfectly embedded in the cell's outer layer, known as the lipid membrane. The enzyme's structure allows it to quickly recombine the charges and recover from a charge-separated state.

 

Kálmán和他的同事们向人们展示，通过往活性酶里添加不同的分子，他们可以改变活性酶的形状，并最终延长其电能的寿命。自然状态下，活性酶恰好镶嵌在细胞的外层中，这种结构被称为脂质膜。脂质膜能和电荷很快重新组合，并在电荷分级的状态下尽快恢复。

 

However, when different lipid molecules make up the membrane, as in Kaman’s experiments, there is a mismatch between the shape of the membrane and the enzyme embedded within it. Both the enzyme and the membrane end up changing their shapes to find a good fit. The changes make it more difficult for the enzyme to recombine the charges, thereby allowing the electrical potential to last much longer.

 

但是，在Kálmán的实验中，当不同的脂质膜分子共同组成薄膜时，薄膜和镶嵌其中的脂质膜的形状不相符合，两者就会共同努力地改变各自的形状，以达到相符的状态。而这种变化使得活性酶更难去重调其中的电荷了，所以也就使得电能持续了更长的时间。

 

"What we're doing is similar to placing a racecar in on snow-covered streets," says Kálmán. The surrounding conditions prevent the racecar from performing as it would on a racetrack, just like the different lipids prevent the enzyme from recombining the charges as efficiently as it does under normal circumstances.

 

“我们所做的正像在布满雪的街道上放置一辆赛车。”Kálmán.解释说，周边的环境使得这辆赛车不能像在赛车车道上自由行驶。活性酶中的各种脂肪同样使得其中的电荷不能像在正常情况下那样有效地重组。

 

Photosynthesis, which has existed for billions of years, is one of the earliest energy-converting systems. "All of our food, our energy sources (gasoline, coal) -- everything is a product of some ancient photosynthetic activity," says Kálmán.

 

光合作用， 作为最古老的能量转换系统， 已经在宇宙中存在几十亿年了。Kálmán 说：“我们所有的食物，我们的能量来源（包括汽油和煤炭）---每一件都是古老的光合作用的产物。”

 

But he adds that the main reason researchers are turning to these ancient natural systems is because they are carbon neutral and use resources that are in abundance: sun, carbon dioxide and water. Researchers are using nature's battery to inspire more sustainable, human-made energy converting systems.

 

他说，研究者们之所以把目光转向了这个古老的系统，是因为它的碳中和以及来源丰富的缘故。（太阳，二氧化碳和水都是其来源）换言之， 研究者们正在用自然界的电池来创造更过可持续发展的，人造的能量转换系统。

 

For a peek into the future of these technologies, Kálmán points to medical applications and biocompatible batteries. Imagine batteries made of enzymes and other biological molecules. These could be used to, for example, monitor a patient from the inside post-surgery. Unlike traditional batteries that contain toxic metals, biocompatible batteries could be left inside the body without causing harm.

 

Kálmán 指出，医学应用和生物相溶的电池是上述科技的未来其发展方向。想象有生化酶和其它生物分子制成的电池的应用情景吧。比如说，他们可以用在手术后的病人的体内。和传统的含金属毒物的电池不同，生物相溶的电池毫无害处地留在人体内用以观察病情的变化。

 

"We're far from that right now but these devices are currently being explored and developed," says Kálmán. "We have to take things step by step but, hopefully, we'll get there one day in the not-too-distant future."

 

“我们距离上述的畅想还是有一段距离的。但是人们现在正在研究和发展上述这些装置。”Kálmán 说，“我们做事得按部就班。但是希望是，我们能在不久的将来实现这一构想。”

 

This research was funded by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

 

Kálmán和他的同事们所做的这项实验由加拿大自然科学和工程研究所赞助完成。