摘要
Background： Recently we proposed a quantum theory on the conformational change of biomolecule, deduced several equations on protein folding rate from the first principles and discussed the experimental tests of the theory. The article is a review of these works. Methods： Based on the general equation of the conformation-transitional rate several theoretical results are deduced and compared with experimental data through bioinformatics methods. Results： The temperature dependence and the denaturant concentration dependence of the protein folding rate are deduced and compared with experimental data. The quantitative relation between protein folding rate and torsional mode number （or chain length） is deduced and the obtained formula can be applied to RNA folding as well. The quantum transition theory of two-state protein is successfully generalized to multi-state protein folding. Then, how to make direct experimental tests on the quantum property of the conformational transition of biomolecule is discussed, which includes the study of protein photo-folding and the observation of the fluctuation of the fluorescence intensity emitted from the protein folding/unfolding event. Finally, the potential applications of the present quantum folding theory to molecular biological problems are sketched in two examples： the glucose transport across membrane and the induced pluripotency in stem cell. Conclusions： The above results show that the quantum mechanics provides a unifying and logically simple theoretical starting point in studying the conformational change of biological macromoleeules. The far-reachlng results in practical application of the theory are expected.
Background： Recently we proposed a quantum theory on the conformational change of biomolecule, deduced several equations on protein folding rate from the first principles and discussed the experimental tests of the theory. The article is a review of these works. Methods： Based on the general equation of the conformation-transitional rate several theoretical results are deduced and compared with experimental data through bioinformatics methods. Results： The temperature dependence and the denaturant concentration dependence of the protein folding rate are deduced and compared with experimental data. The quantitative relation between protein folding rate and torsional mode number （or chain length） is deduced and the obtained formula can be applied to RNA folding as well. The quantum transition theory of two-state protein is successfully generalized to multi-state protein folding. Then, how to make direct experimental tests on the quantum property of the conformational transition of biomolecule is discussed, which includes the study of protein photo-folding and the observation of the fluctuation of the fluorescence intensity emitted from the protein folding/unfolding event. Finally, the potential applications of the present quantum folding theory to molecular biological problems are sketched in two examples： the glucose transport across membrane and the induced pluripotency in stem cell. Conclusions： The above results show that the quantum mechanics provides a unifying and logically simple theoretical starting point in studying the conformational change of biological macromoleeules. The far-reachlng results in practical application of the theory are expected.
