Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. Journal articles
  4. Coupling between electrons’ spin and proton transfer in chiral biological crystals
 
research article

Coupling between electrons’ spin and proton transfer in chiral biological crystals

Goren, Naama
•
Perumal, P.
•
Eisenberg-Domovich, Y.
Show more
May 8, 2025
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Proton transport plays a fundamental role in many biological and chemical systems. In life, proton transport is crucial for biochemical and physiological functions. It is usually accepted that the main mechanism of proton transfer is a result of hopping between neighboring water molecules and amino acid side chains. It was recently suggested that the proton transfer can be simultaneously coupled with electron transfer. As life is homochiral, proton transfer in biology is occurring in a chiral environment. In this environment, the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect relating to electron transfer and chirality is expected to occur. The present work establishes that the proton transfer is coupled to a specific electron spin polarization in lysozyme crystals, associating proton transfer to electron movement and polarization. To preserve total angular momentum, this motion may be coupled to chiral phonons that propagate in the crystal. Our work shows that the interaction of the electrons’ spin and phonons is very significant in proton transfer through lysosome crystals. Injecting the opposite electron spin into the lysosome crystal results in a significant change in proton transfer impedance. This study presents the support for the proton-coupled electron transfer mechanism and indicates the importance of spin polarization in the process.

  • Files
  • Details
  • Metrics
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name

goren-et-al-coupling-between-electrons-spin-and-proton-transfer-in-chiral-biological-crystals.pdf

Type

Main Document

Version

Published version

Access type

openaccess

License Condition

CC BY-NC-ND

Size

1.12 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (MD5)

31f42578d8e72716c815ed7e62b6bcc9

Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés