Self-assembling redox-wires form the 2D power grid of energy converting cell membranes

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that redox-active lipid membranes can conduct high currents via self-assembling molecular wires, revealing a new mechanism for charge transfer in biological membranes with implications for evolution and bio-electronics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel concept of self-assembling redox-wires in membranes that facilitate efficient charge transfer, challenging traditional views of lipid membrane functions.

Findings

Redox membranes can sustain high (mA) currents with semiconductor-like resistivity.

Charge transfer is driven by self-assembling molecular redox-wires enabling in-plane electron and proton hopping.

Conducting membranes may have been precursors to complex redox machinery in life.

Abstract

The light-driven reactions of photosynthesis, as well as the mitochondrial power supply, are hosted within specialized membranes containing a high fraction of redoxactive lipids. Protein mobility and diffusion of redox lipids is believed to be the in plane charge transfer mechanism along such cell membranes. Using a membrane-on-a-chip setup, we show that redox-active model membranes can conduct and sustain surprisingly high (mA) currents with a specific resistivity typical for semiconductors. Our data suggest that charge transfer within cell walls hosting electron-transferchains is driven by self-assembling molecular redox-wires that effectively couple redox-proteins by a simultaneous electron and proton in plane hopping within a membrane. This completely alters our understanding of the role of lipid membranes with wide-range implications suggesting e.g. that conducting membranes may be the precursor for evolving complex redox-machineries of life, and electrochemical membrane deterioration may play an important role in mitochondrial aging. Further, these self-assembling organic 2D-conductors offer technologically exploitable features allowing for designing self-assembling and adaptive bio-electronics.