Circular Dichroism Spectra of Axially Oriented Rhodospirillum rubrum Cells and Their Fragments Immobilized in Polymer Film

Circular Dichroism (CD) spectra of Rhodospirillum rubrum cells, and their fragments embedded in isotropic and uniaxially oriented by stretching polyvinyl alcohol films were measured. Effects responsible for CD signal generation such as assymetry of chromophores itself, the helical organisation of lamellar system, the helical texture of stretched PVA matrix, the contribution from circular and linear birefringence, as well as from exciton splitting resulting from pigments mutual interactions are discussed.