Electron Transfer and Proton Coupling in Proteins

It is shown that electron transfer in proteins is not very dependent on protein structure but is considerably aided by donor/acceptor group orientations. The value of structure within proteins is very largely due to overall atomic packing, and since proteins generally are equally packed, the separation distance of donors and acceptors is usually the dominant term. The need to describe structural features in detail is, however, essential when electron/proton coupled motions are involved. The question as to the importance of small conformational oscillations and changes is examined.