Energy Transport along α-Helix Protein Chains: External Drives and Multifractal Analysis

Materials (Basel). 2022 Apr 10;15(8):2779. doi: 10.3390/ma15082779.

Abstract

Energy transport within biological systems is critical for biological functions in living cells and for technological applications in molecular motors. Biological systems have very complex dynamics supporting a large number of biochemical and biophysical processes. In the current work, we study the energy transport along protein chains. We examine the influence of different factors such as temperature, salt concentration, and external mechanical drive on the energy flux through protein chains. We obtain that energy fluctuations around the average value for short chains are greater than for longer chains. In addition, the external mechanical load is the most effective agent on bioenergy transport along the studied protein systems. Our results can help design a functional nano-scaled molecular motor based on energy transport along protein chains.

Keywords: energy transport; external mechanical drives; molecular motor; protein chain; salt concentration; temperature.