Could Humans Recognize Odor by Phonon Assisted Tunneling?
Open accessAbstract
Our sense of smell relies on sensitive, selective atomic-scale processes that occur when a scent molecule meets specific receptors in the nose. The physical mechanisms of detection are unclear: odorant shape and size are important, but experiment shows them insufficient. One novel proposal suggests receptors are actuated by inelastic electron tunneling from a donor to an acceptor mediated by the odorant, and provides critical discrimination. We test the physical viability of this mechanism using a simple but general model. With parameter values appropriate for biomolecular systems, we find the proposal consistent both with the underlying physics and with observed features of smell. This mechanism suggests a distinct paradigm for selective molecular interactions at receptors (the swipe card model): recognition and actuation involve size and shape, but also exploit other processes.
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The physical viability and efficiency of the proposed inelastic electron tunnelling mechanism using a simple but general theoretical model was shown in 2007.
“The physical viability and efficiency of the proposed mechanism using a simple but general theoretical model was shown in 2007 [112].”
From The future of quantum biology (2018) · cites this paper as [112]
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- Authors
- Brookes, J. C., Hartoutsiou, F., Horsfield, A. P., & Stoneham, A. M.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Venue
- Physical Review Letters
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Published
- 2007-01-16
- Volume
- 98
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 038101-038101
- ISSN
- 0031-9007 (ISSN-L)
- 1079-7114
- OpenAlex
- W2152009255
- Cited by
- 179
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 4.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arxiv.org
- Locations
- Physical Review Letters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (GR/R45680/01)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies
- Keywords
- olfaction, odorant recognition, inelastic electron tunneling, phonon-assisted tunneling, olfactory receptors, odorant-receptor interactions, molecular recognition, odor discrimination
- MeSH terms
- Electrons, Humans, Models, Biological, Models, Chemical, Odorants, Smell, Structure-Activity Relationship, Receptors, Odorant
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