[Mechanism of coupling of oxidation and phosphorylation]

The mechanism of the energy coupling process proposed in the present investigation is based on energy transformation with participation of chemical intermediates, paramagnetic molecules formed in unsaturated fatty acid chains of the phospholipid membrane. The proposed mechanism is a modification of the chemical-intermediate hypothesis, with energy-rich lipid radicals serving as an intermediate. Although there are some points of inconsistency with the chemiosmic theory and Williams's hypothesis about the energy-rich proton, the proposed mechanism accounts for the delta mu H+ gradient and intramembrane proton during the coupling process in oxidative phosphorylation. The existence of the delta mu H+ gradient and its variation during phosphorylation may be a way of oxidative control realization.