The Bhopalator 159“6x9” b2861 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and MatterEdges: Brownian motions of enzymes, (1) exergonic process, (2) and
endergonic process (3).
The distinction between the virtual and real conformons is crucial.
The virtual conformon is short-lived and transient and its mechanical
energy is derived from thermal motions of enzymes (see the cocked spring
in state b in Figure 3.30(a)). In contrast, the real conformon in state c is
stable and long-lived and its mechanical energy is derived from the free
energy released from exergonic physicochemical processes. Through ther-
mal (also called Brownian) motions, an enzyme molecule can be said to
“visit” all possible conformational states (including those containing
potential conformons), out of which only those are “selected” by evolu-
tion that can catalyze an exergonic physicochemical process, the free
energy released from which transforms virtual conformons to real confor-
mons. Once conformons are formed in an enzyme, they can drive specific
goal-directed, energy-requiring molecular processes called “functions”,
including ATP synthesis (see Figure 3.35), and active transport of protons
across the mitochondrial inner membrane (see Figure 3.34(b)). The physi-
cal principle supporting the molecular processes described here is the
GFCP discussed in Sections 3.2.6–3.2.8 which also underlies the pre-fit
mechanism described in Section 3.2.9.3.4.5 The Quantization of Conformational Energies of Biopolymers
The fitting to Planckian Distribution Equation (PDE) of the folding free
energy histogram of proteins (Section 8.3.2) and the single-molecule
kinetic data of cholesterol oxidase (Section 8.2) support the postulate that
the free energy in enzymes is quantized, just as the fitting of blackbody
radiation spectra to Planck radiation equation indicated that the energy of
electrons in atoms is quantized [87]. It is here assumed that the quantiza-
tion of the free energy of enzymes is a prerequisite for the orderly con-
formational transitions necessary for chemical-to-mechanical energy
transductions catalyzed by enzymes (a → c in Figure 3.29). A theoreti-
cal mechanism of converting/transducing chemical energy into mechan-
ical energy of conformationally strained enzymes (i.e., conformons) was first
proposed in 1972 [6, 220–221] based on the GFCP imported into biology
from physics and chemistry [12, pp. 432–434; 14, pp. 26–28; 25, pp. 21–24;
65]. The molecular strategy for accomplishing the chemical-to-mechanicalb2861_Ch-03.indd 159 17-10-2017 11:46:59 AM