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Published on: June 21, 2022
A computational model of membrane lipid electronic properties in relation to neural signaling
1Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816-2366, USA. hprice@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu
Abstract:
We present a computational model of a transiently-organized neural membrane molecular system with possible information-processing capacity. The model examines field-induced dipole and quadrupole moments and polarizability in monomeric, dimeric, and trimeric ethenes. Polarization of the ethenes is strongly indicated. This result is interpreted as a significant electronic feature of a molecular computing system based on organization of membrane lipids into a transient ( approximately 10(-4) s) crystalline state due to lipid-protein hydrophobic mismatch at the membrane-ion-channel interface. Predictive implications of the model's electronic features are briefly discussed.
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