Experimental investigations into charge transport in proteins

Abstract

In order to evaluate the role that proteins may play as pathways for charge carriers in biological systems such as cell membranes and to exploit their properties to a fuller extent in man-made systems, it is useful to understand their submolecular, quantum electronic properties through a study of their conductive and dielectric chracteristics. Such investigations on discs of compressed protein powders have revealed a wide range of electrical properties which have been studied as a function of hydration, hydrostatic pressure, NaCl content and deuterium-hydrogen exchange. These have been carried out using experimental techniques described elsewhere [1] that have been fully tested on more conventional elemental and molecular solids.