2020/01/01 by Данко Георгиев, Danko D. Georgiev, James F. Glazebrook · 1 citation
Chemistry · Engineering · Neuroscience · Physics and Astronomy · #Chemical physics #Chemistry #Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures #Photoreceptor and optogenetics research #Physics #Quantum #Quantum dynamics #Quantum mechanics #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #cond-mat.soft #physics.bio-ph #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/bs.aiq.2020.02.001
published as Advances in Quantum Chemistry 2020; 82: 253-300 · 40 pages, 20 figures
openalex publication_date 2020/01/01 · arxiv created 2020/03/18 · arxiv updated 2020/11/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The essential biological processes that sustain life are catalyzed by protein nano-engines, which maintain living systems in far-from-equilibrium ordered states. To investigate energetic processes in proteins, we have analyzed the system of generalized Davydov equations that govern the quantum dynamics of multiple amide I exciton quanta propagating along the hydrogen-bonded peptide groups in α-helices. Computational simulations have confirmed the generation of moving Davydov solitons by applied pulses of amide I energy for protein α-helices of varying length. The stability and mobility of these solitons depended on the uniformity of dipole-dipole coupling between amide I oscillators, and the isotropy of the exciton-phonon interaction. Davydov solitons were also able to quantum tunnel through massive barriers, or to quantum interfere at collision sites. The results presented here support a nontrivial role of quantum effects in biological systems that lies beyond the mechanistic support of covalent bonds as binding agents of macromolecular structures. Quantum tunneling and interference of Davydov solitons provide catalytically active macromolecular protein complexes with a physical mechanism allowing highly efficient transport, delivery, and utilization of free energy, besides the evolutionary mandate of biological order that supports the existence of such genuine quantum phenomena, and may indeed demarcate the quantum boundaries of life.