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Quanta of local conformational change: conformons in α-helical proteins

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Published 21 May 2010 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd
, , Citation Victor Atanasov and Yasser Omar 2010 New J. Phys. 12 055003 DOI 10.1088/1367-2630/12/5/055003

1367-2630/12/5/055003

Abstract

We propose the conformon as a quantum of local conformational change for energy transfer in α-helical proteins. The underlying mechanism of interaction between the quantum of excitation and the conformational degrees of freedom is nonlinear and leads to solitary wave packets of conformational energy. The phenomenon is specific to α-helices and not to β-sheets in proteins due to the three strands of hydrogen bonds constituting the α-helical backbone.

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10.1088/1367-2630/12/5/055003