Use of single-molecule spectroscopy to tackle fundamental problems in biochemistry: using studies on purple bacterial antenna complexes as an example.

Optical single-molecule techniques can be used in two modes to investigate fundamental questions in biochemistry, namely single-molecule detection and single-molecule spectroscopy. This review provides an overview of how single-molecule spectroscopy can be used to gain detailed information on the electronic structure of purple bacterial antenna complexes and to draw conclusions about the underlying physical structure. This information can be used to understand the energy-transfer reactions that are responsible for the earliest reactions in photosynthesis.