Abstract

It is proposed in this paper that enzymes, by virtue of a number of correctly positioned sites of interaction with substrates, can force the compression of hydrogen bonds, increasing the probability of proton transfer by quantum mechanical tunneling. By such a catalytic mechanism a rate enhancement of many orders of magnitude may be obtained with a very low energy input requirement. The mechanism would, however, require a highly structured catalyst.Pertinent aspects of hydrogen bond theory and of tunneling theory are briefly reviewed