Nuclear spin effects in biological processes.

ABSTRACT: Traditionally, nuclear spin is not considered to affect biological processes. Recently, this has changed as isotopic fractionation that deviates from classical mass dependence was reported both in vitro and in vivo. In these cases, the isotopic effect correlates with the nuclear magnetic spin. Here, we show nuclear spin effects using stable oxygen isotopes (¹⁶O, ¹⁷O, and ¹⁸O) in two separate setups: an artificial dioxygen production system and biological aquaporin channels in cells. We observe that oxygen dynamics in chiral environments (in particular its transport) depend on nuclear spin, suggesting future applications for controlled isotope separation to be used, for instance, in NMR. To demonstrate the mechanism behind our findings, we formulate theoreti

SUBMITTER: Vardi O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10410702 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature