Modeling of photocurrent kinetics upon pulsed photoexcitation of photosynthetic proteins: A case of bacteriorhodopsin

•The photocurrent is described using consecutive proton translocation processes.•Rate coefficients at pH 9.5 were smaller than those at pH 6.3 by a factor of ca. 2.•Mobilities of H+ and OH− cause different photocurrent kinetics at varied pH.•A potential tool for quantifying the light-driven ion pumps is provided.

The proton pump of bacteriorhodopsin in an aqueous solution at varied pH upon pulsed excitation was monitored using a solution-based electrochemical module. The photocurrent action spectrum agreed with the absorption contour at 495–645 nm. Diminishing the photocurrent amplitude by adding a protonophore, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone, revealed that protons were the charge carriers of the photocurrent. The evolution of the conventional proton pump is proposed to occur in three elementary steps consecutively: first, the proton relay from the protonated Schiff base to the purple membrane (PM) surface (k1), then the proton exchange between PM surface and bulk (k2), and finally, the proton uptake (k3). The fitted temporal profiles of the photocurrent agreed with observations in the pH range 5.8–9.5. At pH 7.3, k1, k2, and k3 were 2098 s− 1, 412 s− 1, and 44 s− 1, respectively. The rate coefficients at pH 9.5 were smaller than those at pH 6.3 by a factor of approximately 2, consistent with the differences in the intrinsic mobilities of the charge carriers proton and hydroxide ion. The combination of the electrochemical detection module and the concomitant model provides a promising tool for quantitative and qualitative characterization of the light-driven ion pumps.

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