Abstract
One way to visualize the complex phospholipid molecular bilayer comprising the biological membrane which surrounds the living cell is as a high density, two dimensional, digital logic processing (possibly memory) plane or surface acting somewhat in the fashion of an “ultra-microcircuit” composed of high speed, low power-consuming, quantum-limited units (“switching elements” or “devices”) which would be composed of a bilayer “sandwich” of two opposed, single linear phospholipid molecules. In this view, the analogue of silicon in traditional microcircuitry would be the inner insulating hydrocarbon acyl chain layer (approximating 40–50 Angstrom units in thickness). Surface protein molecules. or the conducting surface layers of assemblies of the polar head groups of the amphipathic membrane-forming molecules would form a sort “conductor/insulating barrier/conductor” structure already familiar as MIM, MOS and other more complex types of metal/semiconductor devices.
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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York
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Huth, G.C., Bond, J.D., Tove, P.A. (1984). Nonlinear Tunneling Barriers at High Frequencies and their Possible Logic Processing Function in Biological Membrane. In: Adey, W.R., Lawrence, A.F. (eds) Nonlinear Electrodynamics in Biological Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2789-9_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2789-9_18
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