Synopses & Reviews
The main goal of this book is to describe in physical terms the peculiar features of "machines" having molecular dimensions that play the principal role in the most important biological processes, viz., energy transduction and enzyme catalysis. Since these molecular engines work with thermal, chemical, and mechanical energy, the appropriate framework to discuss them comes from thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. The book thus begins with a review of the thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. It then discusses the notion of molecular machines, and in particular, the problems associated with applying thermodynamics to small systems such as enzymes. The authors then turn to enzyme catalysis, discussing theoretical and experimental investigations of protein dynamics. The concluding chapter deals with energy transduction in biological membranes, focusing on ATP synthesis.
Synopsis
This book is aimed at a large audience: from students, who have a high- school background in physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology, to scien- tists working in the fields of biophysics and biochemistry. The main aim of this book is to attempt to describe, in terms of physical chemistry and chemi- cal physics, the peculiar features of "machines" having molecular dimen- sions which play a crucial role in the most important biological processes, viz., energy transduction and enzyme catalysis. One of the purposes of this book is to analyze the physical background of the high efficiency of molecu- lar machines functioning in the living cell. This book begins with a brief review of the subject (Chapter 1). Macro- molecular energy-transducing complexes operate with thermal, chemical, and mechanical energy, therefore the appropriate framework to discuss the functioning of biopolymers comes from thermodynamics and chemical kinet- ics. That is why we start our analysis with a consideration of the conventional approaches of thermodynamics and classical chemical kinetics, and their application to the description of bioenergetic processes (Chapter 2). Critical analysis of these approaches has led us to the conclusion that the conven- tional approaches of physical chemistry to the description of the functioning of individual macromolecular devices, in many cases, appear to be incom- plete. This prompted us to consider the general principles ofliving machinery from another point of view.
Synopsis
The main goal of this book is to describe in physical terms the peculiar features of "machines" having molecular dimensions that play the principal role in the most important biological processes. The book is aimed at scientists and graduate students of biochemistry and biophysics as well as biologists and physicians working in this field.