Fano resonance line shapes in the Raman spectra of tubulin and microtubules reveal quantum effects.

ABSTRACT: Microtubules are self-assembling biological nanotubes made of the protein tubulin that are essential for cell motility, cell architecture, cell division, and intracellular trafficking. They demonstrate unique mechanical properties of high resilience and stiffness due to their quasi-crystalline helical structure. It has been theorized that this hollow molecular nanostructure may function like a quantum wire where optical transitions can take place, and photoinduced changes in microtubule architecture may be mediated via changes in disulfide or peptide bonds or stimulated by photoexcitation of tryptophan, tyrosine, or phenylalanine groups, resulting in subtle protein structural changes owing to alterations in aromatic flexibility. Here, we measured the Raman spectra of a microtubule and its

SUBMITTER: Zhang W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9680776 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature