Coulomb interaction rules timescales in potassium ion channel tunneling. (29th May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De March, N; Prado, S D; Brunnet, L G
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Volume 30:Number 25(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-05-29
• Subjects: quantum transport -- quantum biology -- ion channel -- Coulomb repulsion; Condensed matter -- Periodicals; Matière condensée -- Périodiques; Vaste stoffen; Vloeistoffen; Natuurkunde; Electronic journals; Computer network resources; 530.4105
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/aac40b
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0953-8984

Abstract

Abstract: Assuming the selectivity filter of KcsA potassium ion channel may exhibit quantum coherence, we extend a previous model by Vaziri and Plenio (2010 New J. Phys .12 085001) to take into account Coulomb repulsion between potassium ions. We show that typical ion transit timescales are determined by this interaction, which imposes optimal input/output parameter ranges. Also, as observed in other examples of quantum tunneling in biological systems, the addition of moderate noise helps coherent ion transport.