A rapid procedure for the isolation and purification of photosynthetic reaction centers from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides R-26

A rapid purification procedure has been developed for the isolation of reaction centers From Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides strain R-26. The procedure takes about 7 h and results in yields of 60–75%. The ratio of the optical absorbances at 280 and 800 nm is between 1.4 and 1.5, and preparations can be made with either one or two quinones per reaction center. EPR spectra show a sharp g 1.83 signal for the ubisemiquinone. The substitution of lauryl maltoside for lauryldimethylamine oxide suppresses reaction-center degradation in solution.