Electron-Transfer Mechanisms

Abstract

The investigation of electron-transfer mechanisms is an interdisciplinary area, more so perhaps than any other area of cytochrome research, in which physicists, chemists and biochemists have combined to produce an extensive literature. This work has eliminated a number of proposed mechanisms but it has not replaced them with a generally accepted mechanism for any protein. In fact many of the fundamental questions about electron transfer within a protein matrix have not yet been answered. However, the interplay between different disciplines has led to the development of a theoretical framework for electron transfer and indicated some of the factors important in controlling electron-transfer rates. In the present chapter we describe these mechanistic influences and give a brief guide to the biochemical relevance of particular physical concepts of electron transfer.