Bioelectric Excitation, a Theory and Electrophysiological Data

Abstract

A new theory of bioelectric excitation predicates that excitable cells employ physiological electrodes, i.e., electrodes defined by a change in electric charge carrier across an interphase. Hydrated ions are charge carriers on one side of these interphases. Anhydrous charged particles complexed to hydrophobic ligands of an enzyme molecule lie on the other side. Bioelectrochemistry is defined to pertain to organic biochemical reactions that employ these electrodes. Such a reaction can proceed faster and with less heat production than would be possible without electrodes. A number of inferences follow. One of these is that bioelectrochemical reactions must obey biochemical and electrochemical kinetics. Another is that a bioelectric spike must evince more than ion flux modulation; it must evince modulation of one or more bioelectrochemical reactions, and of coupled nonelectro-chemical reactions. Furthermore, these modulations produce concentration changes of metabolites which participate in the reactions, concentration changes which define the resting and excited states of the membrane. Thermodynamics does not deal with reaction modulations. Therefore thermo-dynamic equations are not relevant. Instead, kinetic equations are employed, which express bioelectrochemical and nonbioelectrochemical reaction densities, on the one hand, and effects of coenzyme synthesis and consumption, on the other. Numerical integrations of these equations provide metabolite concentrations at any instant, and the instantaneous state of the membrane. Agreement of these integrations with electrophysiologi-cal data is experimental support for the theory.

Key Words:

• Action potential
• Biochemistry
• Bioelectricity
• Channel
• Electrochemical kinetics
• Electrochemistry
• Electrodes
• Electrogenic ion transport
• Electrophysiology
• Enzymes
• Excitability
• Irritability
• Kinetics
• Membrane
• Membrane potential