THE BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF LOW-FREQUENCY PHONONS

It is pointed out that the process of association between biomoleeules is accompanicd with an excitation of low-frequency phonons. This is just a reflection of the flexibility and the interior movement which are characteristic of biomolecules. We, furthermore, taking insulin-insulin receptor interaction and insulin-insulin antibody interaction as examples through estimating the entropy of low-frequency phonons created, could satisfactorily interpret the experimental results which so far have not yet been accounted for. It is noteworthy that the energy of a low-frequency phonon estimated in this article is right in the same order of magnitude with the average value of enthalpy measured for the conformational change of a residue in some biomolecules. This means that the low-frequency phonons probably possess such functions as lead to the conformational change and transmit the biological information.