On the role of electrodynamic interactions in long-distance biomolecular recognition


It describes how before an encounter between two biomolecules to produce a reaction, they must encounter, and electrostatic force is not effective because ions in the cytoplasm screens the static electric charges. But the same not occur for oscillating electric fields (in principle when the frequency is above 250 MHz).

" In the present paper, we will show that, similarly to QED, long-distance electrodynamic interactions can be activated in conditions of classical resonance (off-resonance conditions would lead to short-distance interactions). ... While quantum electrodynamic interactions are attributed to instantaneous dipole moments resulting from electronic transitions of the atoms, dipole moments involved in the classical limit are due to conformational molecular vibrations."

They note that there is experimental evidence for low-frequency excitation of biomolecules attributed to coherent collective oscillation modes of the whole molecule (protein or DNA) or of a substantial fraction of its atoms (in [1] there are experimental optical measurement of long-range vibrations in proteins) and how they can induce strong resonant dipole interactions between biomolecules when they oscillate at the same frequency or with the same pattern of frequencies. So electromagnetic communication between biomolecules account for the highly efficient pattern of biochemical reactions in cells.

" Since proteins and DNA/RNA molecules are characterized by high-frequency vibrational motions in the Terahertz domain or above [5, 6], it is worth investigating how forces of electrodynamic nature may influence the dynamics of biomolecules, especially over long distances. EDI are well known in QED whereas almost no literature is available on classical interactions. In this paper, we reported that classical EDI show similar properties as quantum interactions in the dipole limit, i.e., at distances much larger than the dimensions of the molecules involved. Whenever the dipole moments of the molecules oscillate with the same frequency, long-range resonance interactions in 1/r3 are activated. Non-resonant conditions lead to short-range interactions in 1/r6."

Also mentions that water ordering around protein structures is a possible mechanism that can enhance resonant electrodynamic interactions.

There is produced a phenomenon like Fröhlich modes (see [2] to more on this).

" In the case of two interacting molecules, such a process could ensure the action constant of the mode of lowest frequency to be much greater than the action constant(s) related to other mode(s). Of course, this would result in an effective attractive potential whose amplitude is dependent on the “stored” energy."

[1] Acbas, G., Niessen, K. A., Snell, E. H., & Markelz, A. G. (2014). Optical measurements of long-range protein vibrations. Nature communications, 5, 3076.

[2] Endogenous Fields & Mind › Endogenous Electromagnetic Fields › Electromagnetism & Fröhlich Modes


Last modified on 15-Mar-16

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