DISPLACEMENT CURRENT IN BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES

Abstract

The functioning of some important membrane bound enzymes of the living systems is connected with charge translocation. A method has been elaborated to measure the displacement current due to the motion of protons on light excitation in the bacteriorhodopsin molecules. From the time distribution and the amplitudes of the current it has been established that the translocation of protons takes five different steps all with different distances inside the proteins.