Theory of intermolecular electron transfer in nanoscale biological structures

Macromolecular biological systems performing directed electron transfer are nano-sized structures. The distance between carrier molecules (cofactors), which represent practically isolated electron localization centers, reaches tens of angstroms. The electron transfer theory based on the concept of delocalized electron states, which is conventionally used in biophysics, is unable to adequately interpret the results of concrete observations in many cases. On the basis of the theory of electronic transitions in the case of localized states, developed in the physics of disordered matter, a mechanism of long-distance electron transfer in biological systems is suggested. The molecular relaxation of the microenvironment of electron localization centers that accompanies the electron transfer process is also considered.