WHOLEDUDE – WHOLEDESIGNER – CHLOROPHYLL:
The word Chlorophyll is derived by combining two Greek words; Chloros means green, and Phyllon means a leaf. It refers to the green pigment found in the Cyanobacteria(Blue-Green algae), and in the chloroplasts of Grass-Green algae, and plant cells. Chlorophyll occurs in five forms; especially Chlorophyll a, and Chlorophyll b. Chlorophyll a is the most widely distributed form in nature.
The pigments of biological tissues that reflect or transmit light are known as biochromes. Apart from causing, or generating color, biochromes play a pivotal role in metabolic processes. Chlorophyll is a nitrogenous biochrome, an organic molecule that contains nitrogen. It is the only substance in nature that has the ability to trap and store the energy of Sunlight. It absorbs light most strongly in the blue portion of the electromagnetic spectrum followed by the red portion. It is a poor absorber of green and near-green portions of the spectrum. The green portion of the spectrum is reflected and thus Chlorophyll appears green.
French chemists, Joseph Bienaime Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier get the credit for first isolating Chlorophyll in 1817. They paved the way for research on natural organic compounds and had established the foundation for Alkaloid Chemistry. They isolated several plant alkaloids like Quinine, Strychnine, Emetine, and Caffeine. The general molecular structure of Chlorophyll was first described by Hans Fischer, a German chemist in 1940. Fischer investigated pigments in blood, bile, and Chlorophyll in leaves. He was awarded 1930 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
 Pyrrole describes a class of organic compounds of the heterocyclic series characterized by a ring structure composed of four carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom. In Chlorophyll, four Pyrrole rings(Tetrapyrrole) are joined in a larger ring system known as Porphyrin. Porphyrins are a group of water-soluble, nitrogenous Pyrrole derivatives that combine with either Iron, or Magnesium. Chlorophyll has a Porphyrin ring(Chlorin ring) coordinated to a central Magnesium ion.
Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist who worked at Harvard University determined the structure of organic compounds such as Penicillin, Terramycin, and Aureomycin. During 1940s, he had synthesized many complex natural products including Quinine, Cholesterol, Cortisone, Strychnine, Lysergic Acid, Reserpine, Cephalosporin, and Colchicine. He was the first to synthesize Chlorophyll during 1960.
The Chlorophyll molecule is the active part that absorbs the Sunlight. In order to do this job called photo reception, Chlorophyll needs to be attached to the backbone of a very complicated protein. This protein may look haphazard in design, but it has exactly the correct structure to orient the Chlorophyll molecules in the optimal position to enable them to react with Carbon Dioxide, and Water molecules in a very efficient manner. The Chlorophyll photosynthetic pigments performs the light harvesting function because of Chlorophyll-Protein Complex that is part of the Thylakoid Membrane of the Chloroplast, the disc-like structures in which the pigment is found.
WHOLEDESIGNER – WHOLE ARCHITECT:
Chlorophyll is not simply about generating coloration in plant leaves. It describes the work, the imagination, the inspiration used by a Master Architect who uses matter, energy, time, space, and color in a very creative manner.
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