The Quantum Nano Engineering Laboratory
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
Spin in Biological Systems




Life's biochemical architecture is fundamentally chiral, with biological molecules existing as two non-superimposable mirror image forms called enantiomers. The predominance of one enantiomer, known as homochirality, is a hallmark of life on Earth, yet its origins and persistence throughout evolution remain elusive.
When molecules interact with other molecules or surfaces, a temporary charge displacement occurs. In chiral molecules, the rate of electron displacement is linked with electron spin, a phenomenon known as the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS). This gives rise to transient spin polarization in chiral molecules and introduces symmetry constraints to chiral systems, contributing strong and highly directional spin-dependent enantiospecific interactions that are essential for life's molecular architecture and function.
We investigate how spin-dependent interactions can initiate and preserve homochirality and their broader implications for dynamic biochemical processes, including protein folding and aggregation. Our research also examines the effects of nuclear spin on biological processes, such as oxygen transport and proton conduction.
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Y. Kapon, et al., "Non-classical Temperature Dependence of Chirality-Induced Magnetization and Its Implications for RNA's Homochirality" arXiv 2412.05720 (2024).
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S.F. Ozturk, et al., "Chirality-induced avalanche magnetization of magnetite by an RNA precursor," Nat. Commun. 14, 6351 (2023)
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O. Vardi, N., Maroudas-Sklare, et al., "Nuclear spin effects in biological processes," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 120 (32), e2300828120 (2023).
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H. Manis Levy, A. Schneider, et al., "The effect of spin exchange interaction on protein structural stability," Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 24, 29176-29185.
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Kapon, Y. et. al. "Evidence for new enantiospecific interaction force in chiral biomolecules". Chem. 7, 10, 2787-2799 (2021)