Prof Vlatko Vedral FInstP

Abstract:

Many intramolecular electron transfer (ET) reactions in biology are mediated by metal centers in proteins. This process is commonly described by a model of diffusive hopping according to the semiclassical theories of Marcus and Hopfield. However, recent studies have raised the possibility that nontrivial quantum mechanical effects play a functioning role in certain biomolecular processes. Here, we investigate the potential effects of quantum coherence in biological ET by extending the semiclassical model to allow for the possibility of quantum coherent phenomena using a quantum master equation based on the Holstein Hamiltonian. We test the model on the structurally defined chain of seven iron-sulfur clusters in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide plus hydrogen:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I), a crucial respiratory enzyme and one of the longest chains of metal centers in biology. Using experimental parameters where possible, we find that, in limited circumstances, a small quantum mechanical contribution can provide a marked increase in the ET rate above the semiclassical diffusive-hopping rate. Under typical biological conditions, our model reduces to well-known diffusive behavior.

Abstract:

Recent advances in the spectroscopy of biomolecules have highlighted the possibility of quantum coherence playing an active role in biological energy transport. The revelation that quantum coherence can survive in the hot and wet environment of biology has generated a lively debate across both the physics and biology communities. In particular, it remains unclear to what extent non-trivial quantum effects are used in biology and what advantage, if any, they afford. We propose an analogue quantum simulator, based on currently available techniques in ultra-cold atom physics, to study a model of energy and electron transport based on the Holstein Hamiltonian. By simulating the salient aspects of a biological system in a tunable laboratory set-up, we hope to gain insight into the validity of several theoretical models of biological quantum transport in a variety of relevant parameter regimes. © 2012 The Royal Society.