Monitoring Ion Channel Function In Real Time Through Quantum Decoherence

Details Monitoring Ion Channel Function In Real Time Through Quantum Decoherence Monitoring Ion Channel Function In Real Time Through Quantum Decoherence

2009-11-24

arxiv.org/abs/0911.4539v1

PNAS, published ahead of print October 11, 2010

Physics

Quantum Physics

7 pages, 6 figures

Scientific paper

10.1073/pnas.1002562107

In drug discovery research there is a clear and urgent need for non-invasive detection of cell membrane ion channel operation with wide-field capability. Existing techniques are generally invasive, require specialized nano structures, or are only applicable to certain ion channel species. We show that quantum nanotechnology has enormous potential to provide a novel solution to this problem. The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre in nano-diamond is currently of great interest as a novel single atom quantum probe for nanoscale processes. However, until now, beyond the use of diamond nanocrystals as fluorescence markers, nothing was known about the quantum behaviour of a NV probe in the complex room temperature extra-cellular environment. For the first time we explore in detail the quantum dynamics of a NV probe in proximity to the ion channel, lipid bilayer and surrounding aqueous environment. Our theoretical results indicate that real-time detection of ion channel operation at millisecond resolution is possible by directly monitoring the quantum decoherence of the NV probe. With the potential to scan and scale-up to an array-based system this conclusion may have wide ranging implications for nanoscale biology and drug discovery.

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