Soliton-assisted unidirectional circulation in a biochemical cycle.

The unidirectional circulation of an enzyme round a working cycle can be understood in terms of the formation and decay of a soliton that acts as a ligand for the protein and for which the surrounding heat bath serves as a sink. An experimental confirmation of this interpretation is suggested in which the soliton is of the Davidov type and is created by infrared photon absorption as in recent experiments on acetanilide.