Proteotronics: Application to Human 17-40 and Bacteriorhodopsin Receptors

Human olfactory 17-40 and Bacteriorhodopsin are two protein receptors that received particular attention in electronics, due to the possibility of implementing nano-biodevices able to detect odours and light and thus useful for medical and green energy harvesting applications. Some recent experiments concerning the electrical responses of these receptors are reviewed. Data are interpreted in the framework of a new science exploiting the complexity in biology and biomedical engineering called proteotronics. In particular, the single protein is modelled as an impedance network whose topological properties affect the electrical response as measured by experiments.