Dielectric response in proteins: The proteotronics approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple method to calculate the dielectric permittivity of hydrated proteins, validated against classical approaches, aiding fundamental understanding and practical applications in proteotronics.

Contribution

A novel, easy-to-use computational approach for estimating protein permittivity, integrated into proteotronics workflows, validated by comparison with classical methods.

Findings

Results are consistent with classical macroscopic methods.

The method provides reliable estimates of protein dielectric properties.

Insights contribute to ongoing debates on protein dielectric behavior.

Abstract

The dielectric properties of proteins, particularly in their hydrated state, have been extensively studied. Numerous theoretical and experimental investigations have reported values of both the permittivity and the intrinsic dipole moments of specific proteins under well-defined hydration conditions. Since even approximate estimates of these properties are relevant from both fundamental and applied perspectives, we propose a easy-to-use method to calculate the relative permittivity that can be readily integrated into proteotronics workflows. To validate the proposed approach, we compare the results with those obtained using a classical macroscopic method. The outcomes are consistent and contribute further insight into this long-debated issue.