On February 25, a scientific seminar was held at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies of the MSE of AR. The speaker was Mehri̇ban Shabanova, a second-year PhD student specializing in Biochemistry at the International Laboratory of Bionanotechnology. She delivered a report on the topic "The Influence of Chemical Agents on Photosystem II." She explained that her research focuses on studying how newly synthesized chemical compounds affect Photosystem II (PSII). In her report, the researcher talked about the problems of using herbicides in agriculture and how certain inhibitors impact PSI and PSII. The study examined the effect of a newly synthesized copper-containing metal-organic complex - [CuL2]Br2 (L = bis{4H-1,3,5-triazino[2,1-b]benzothiazol-2-amine, 4-(2-imidazole)} on PSII. They also used diuron (DCMU), a known PSII inhibitor, to compare the results. The speaker highlighted that the [CuL2]Br2 complex exhibits a dual effect on chlorophyll fluorescence transitions. Kinetic analysis revealed a significant decrease in fluorescence intensity, as well as an additional "diuron-like" effect. The initial reduction occurs both in the presence and absence of DCMU, whereas the "diuron-like" effect is observed only in the absence of DCMU. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the [CuL2]Br2 complex has two distinct binding sites in PSII:At the high-affinity binding site, the complex leads to an overall decrease in fluorescence. At the low-affinity binding site, it exhibits an effect similar to the DCMU inhibitor.

After the presentation, the participants discussed the research and the young researcher answered their questions.