Nontrivial Quantum Effects in Biology | Igor Khmelinskii
Summary :
Recently we reported on photophysical properties of quantum-thin polycrystalline metal and semiconductor nanofilms, and of intermediate protein filaments, all of which have dimensionally-quantized excited states with extremely long lifetimes, corresponding to ballistic excitons with centimeter travel distances in metal nanofilms. Presently we report the usage of midinfrared excitons in these 2D and 1D systems in crucial experiments probing the mechanisms of enzymatic catalysis. Two commonly accepted theories about enzymes were revisited. The first states that adenosine triphosphate (ATP)–stored energy is only released when the substrate is in place, because the substrate changes the enzyme structure when it is bound to the enzyme.
About Author :
University of Algarve, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, and Center for Electronics, Optoelectronics and Telecommunications, Faro, Portugal
