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Nature has evolved to u.lize the transfer of electrons to power key chemical transforma.ons in variety of processes ranging from photosynthesis to cellular respira.on. The ‘machinery’ responsible for such complex reac.ons are o@en metalloproteins that are composed of rela.vely large protein matrix through which electrons are tunneled across 0.1 – 10 nm distances in a single or mul.ple steps to reach the metal ac.ve sites where reac.on takes place.
In this talk, I will describe the current understanding of how electrons are transferred via proteins and how this process has evolved to u.lize electrons to enable the ac.va.on of small molecules like oxygen. I will lay a par.cular focus on the importance of physical chemistry methods to study such biophysical processes. Electrochemistry allows monitoring the electron flow between the electrode interface and immobilized on the interface metalloprotein, while spectroscopy (op.cal, vibra.onal and electron paramagne.c resonance EPR) allows insight into the structure of redox ac.ve component under inves.ga.on.