Joule heating involving ion currents through channel proteins.

ABSTRACT: Ion currents associated with channel proteins in the presence of membrane potential are ubiquitous in cellular and organelle membranes. When an ion current occurs through a channel protein, Joule heating should occur. However, this Joule heating seems to have been largely overlooked in biology. Here we show theoretical investigation of Joule heating involving channel proteins in biological processes. We used electrochemical potential to derive the Joule's law for an ion current through an ion transport protein in the presence of membrane potential, and we suggest that heat production and absorption can occur. Simulation of temperature distribution around a single channel protein with the Joule heating revealed that the temperature increase was as small as <10^-3 K, although an en

SUBMITTER: Wazawa T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10728626 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature