| Abstract: | Films with alternating layers of thylakoid membrane from the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis and the positively charged polyion poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) were prepared by means of alternate electrostatic layer‐by‐layer assembly. The thylakoid membrane/PEI bilayers were functionally and structurally characterized by visible spectra, electrochemical methods and SEM techniques, respectively. The films deposited onto gold electrodes were molecularly smooth and consistent with thylakoid membrane/PEI bilayers as observed by SEM. The photoactivity of the thylakoid membrane/PEI assembly was dependent on thickness of the film that increased with the number of bilayers. There was an obvious difference in the current responses of 1‐ and 5‐bilayer thylakoid membrane/PEI films under illumination. The photosynthetic electron transfer process in the thylakoid membrane/PEI single‐bilayer film was demonstrated by an inhibition of the photoactivity by herbicide. Biodevices for the detection of phytotoxicity were constructed using the isolated thylakoid membrane from chloroplast as biosensing elements by means of electrostatic layer‐by‐layer assembly. |
