Mechanism of Proton Pumping in Complex I of the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain

We propose a physical mechanism of conformation-induced proton pumping in mitochondrial Complex I. The structural conformations this protein are modeled as the motion piston having positive charges on both sides. A negatively charged electron attracts piston, moving other end away from site, thereby reducing its energy and allowing to populate site. When escapes, elastic forces assist return increasing site facilitating transfer. derive Heisenberg equations for operators rewrite them form rate coupled phenomenological Langevin equation describing dynamics. This set is solved numerically. show that can be achieved within model reasonable parameters. dependencies current geometry, temperature, parameters examined.