Summary
In biological electron transport the spin, and thus the magnetic property of electrons, is neglected. Furthermore, no attention is paid to the fact that the great majority of biologically important molecules are chiral, and during excitation a magnetic moment is induced in them. It is shown, both theoretically and experimentally, that the magnetic moment of the electron and the magnetic transition moment of the optically active molecules may interact. The main consequences of such an interaction are a higher probability of the occurrence of optically active molecules in triplet states, and the polarization of transported electrons.
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Note: The term chirality has been introduced byKelvin (Robert Boyle Lecture May 16, 1893, printed in “Baltimore Lectures” Appendix H p. 439, 1904). He wrote: “I call any geometrical figure, or any group of points chiral, and say it has chirality, if its image in a plane mirror can not be brought to coincide with itself”.
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Garay, A.S., Czégé, J., Tolvaj, L. et al. Biological significance of molecular chirality in energy balance and metabolism. Acta Biotheor 22, 34–43 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01500603
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01500603