Titel
Matter-wave interference of a native polypeptide
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Abstract
The de Broglie wave nature of matter is a paradigmatic example of quantum physics and it has been exploited in precision measurements of forces and fundamental constants. However, matter-wave interferometry has remained an outstanding challenge for natural polypeptides, building blocks of life, which are fragile and difficult to handle. Here, we demonstrate the wave nature of gramicidin, a natural antibiotic composed of 15 amino acids. Its center of mass is delocalized over more than 20 times the molecular size in our time-domain Talbot-Lau interferometer. We compare the observed interference fringes with a model that includes both a rigorous treatment of the peptide’s quantum wave nature as well as a quantum chemical assessment of its optical properties to distinguish our result from classical predictions. The realization of quantum optics with this prototypical biomolecule paves the way for quantum-assisted measurements on a large class of biologically relevant molecules.
Stichwort
Atomic and molecular interactions with photonsMass spectrometryMatter waves and particle beams
Objekt-Typ
Sprache
Englisch [eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:1208893
Erschienen in
Titel
Nature Communications
Band
11
ISSN
2041-1723
Erscheinungsdatum
2020
Verlag
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Erscheinungsdatum
2020
Zugänglichkeit
Rechteangabe
© The Author(s) 2020

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