Long-distance electron tunneling is a fundamental process which is involved in energy generation in cells. The tunneling occurs between the metal centers in the respiratory enzymes, typically over distances up to 20 or 30 such distances, the tunneling time—i.e., the time during which an electron passes through the body of the protein molecule from one metal center to another—is of the order of 10 fs. Here the process of electron tunneling in proteins is reviewed, and a possibility of experimental observation of real-time electron tunneling in a single protein molecule is discussed.

中文翻译：

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蛋白质中的长距离电子隧穿：时间分辨光谱的新挑战

长距离电子隧穿是细胞内能量产生的基本过程。隧道发生在呼吸酶的金属中心之间，通常在长达 20 或 30 个这样的距离内，隧道时间——即电子穿过蛋白质分子主体从一个金属中心到另一个金属中心的时间——是 10 fs 的数量级。这里回顾了蛋白质中电子隧穿的过程，并讨论了对单个蛋白质分子中实时电子隧穿进行实验观察的可能性。