Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.14294/WATER.2025.4

Publication Title

Water: A Multidisciplinary Research Journal

Volume

14

Pages

164-178

Abstract

The transmembrane-electrostatically localized protons/cations charges (TELCs, also known as TELPs) model may serve as a unified framework to explain a wide range of bioenergetic phenomena. Transient transmembrane-electrostatically localized protons (TELPs) and transmembrane potential in a laser flash-energized bacteriorhodopsin (bR) purple membrane (PM) open flat sheet are now better analyzed. Under the Heberle et al. (1994) experimental conditions, the number of bR molecules is now calculated to be 8200 per PM open flat sheet with a diameter of 600 nm. With a single-turnover laser flash intensity of 3 mJ/cm² to photoexcite 10% of the bR molecules, the laser flash-induced peak TELCs density is calculated to be 2900 per µm² of PM, which translates to a peak transient transmembrane potential of 50 mV. The bR protonic outlet protrudes into the liquid phase outside the putative “potential well/barrier”. The observation is in line with the TELPs model, but does not support the “potential well/barrier” model. The author encourages research on more relevant protonic capacitor cell systems that have transmembrane potential with TELCs comprising excess positive charges at one side and excess anions at the other side of the membrane.

Rights

Copyright Water Journal 2025. All rights reserved.

Included with the kind written permission of the copyright holders and the author.

Original Publication Citation

Lee, J. W. (2025). Transient transmembrane-electrostatically localized protons and transmembrane potential in a laser flashed bacteriorhodopsin purple membrane open flat sheet. Water: A Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 14, 164-178. https://doi.org/10.14294/WATER.2025.4

ORCID

0000-0003-2525-5870 (Lee)

Download

Share

COinS