Institute of Nanophotonics, Jinan University, 511443, Guangzhou, China.
Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Centre, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
Nat Commun. 2019 Jul 19;10(1):3245. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11212-x.
Quantum biological electron transfer (ET) essentially involves in virtually all important biological processes such as photosynthesis, cellular respiration, DNA repair, cellular homeostasis, and cell death. However, there is no real-time imaging method to capture biological electron tunnelling in live cells to date. Here, we report a quantum biological electron tunnelling (QBET) junction and its application in real-time optical detection of QBET and the dynamics of ET in mitochondrial cytochrome c during cell life and death process. QBET junctions permit to see the behaviours of electron tunnelling through barrier molecules with different barrier widths. Using QBET spectroscopy, we optically capture real-time ET in cytochrome c redox dynamics during cellular apoptosis and necrosis in living cells. The non-invasive real-time QBET spectroscopic imaging of ET in live cell open a new era in life sciences and medicine by providing a way to capture spatiotemporal ET dynamics and to reveal the quantum biological mechanisms.
量子生物学电子转移（ET）本质上涉及几乎所有重要的生物过程，如光合作用、细胞呼吸、DNA 修复、细胞内稳态和细胞死亡。然而，迄今为止，还没有实时成像方法来捕获活细胞中的生物电子隧穿。在这里，我们报告了一种量子生物学电子隧穿（QBET）结及其在实时光学检测 QBET 和线粒体细胞色素 c 中 ET 动力学中的应用，该动力学涉及细胞生与死过程。QBET 结允许看到通过具有不同势垒宽度的势垒分子的电子隧穿行为。使用 QBET 光谱学，我们在活细胞中光学捕获细胞凋亡和坏死过程中细胞色素 c 氧化还原动力学中的实时 ET。在活细胞中进行非侵入式实时 QBET 光谱学 ET 成像，通过提供一种捕获时空 ET 动力学和揭示量子生物学机制的方法，为生命科学和医学开辟了一个新时代。
