Problems of the theory of electron transfer in biological systems

Based on comparative analysis, it is shown that the electron transfer theory traditionally used in biophysics is often unable to explain the electron transfer regularities observed in biological molecular systems. The data for seven electron transfer reactions (direct and reverse) that occur in bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers (mainly, purple bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides ) have been analyzed. Conceivable reasons for the discrepancy between the theoretical and experimental data are discussed and some approaches to overcoming this contradiction are offered.