Metal-Protein-Metal Junctions—Electron Transport and Mechanical Deformation

Proteins have proven to be promising candidates for molecular electronics, showing in some cases much higher conductance than one would naively expect from their size. In particular, the blue-copper azurin extracted from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been the subject of many experimental studies. The exact nature of the transport mechanism, however, is still under debate. Here I will present our efforts towards gaining an insight into this issue from a theoretical perspective, analyzing both the electronic structure and the geometrical arrangement [1-6].<br/><br/><br/><br/>References<br/>[1] M. P. Ruiz et al. , J. Am. Chem. Soc. <b>139</b>, 43, 15337 (2017).<br/>[2] C. Romero Muñiz, M. Ortega, J.G Vilhena, I. Diéz Pérez, R. Pérez, J. C. Cuevas, L. A. Zotti, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., <b>20</b>, 30392 (2018).<br/>[3] C. Romero Muñiz, M. Ortega, J.G Vilhena, I. Diéz Pérez, R. Pérez, J. C. Cuevas, L. A. Zotti, Biomolecules, <b>9</b>(9), 506 (2019).<br/>[4] C. Romero Muñiz, M. Ortega, J.G Vilhena, I. Diéz Pérez, R. Pérez, J. C. Cuevas, L. A. Zotti, J.Phys.Chem.C <b>125</b> (3), 1693 (2021).<br/>[5] C. Romero Muñiz, M. Ortega, J.G Vilhena, R. Pérez, J. C. Cuevas, L. A. Zotti, Appl. Sci. <b>11</b> (9), 3732 (2021).<br/>[6] C. Romero Muñiz, J.G Vilhena, R. Pérez, J. C. Cuevas, L. A. Zotti, Front. Phys. 10:950929. doi: 10.3389/fphy.2022.950929 (2022).