the swipe card model of odorant recognition的磁卡模型有气味的识别.pdfVIP

Sensors 2012, 12, 15709-15749; doi:10.3390/s121115709 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Review The Swipe Card Model of Odorant Recognition Jennifer C. Brookes 1,*, Andrew P. Horsfield 2,* and A. Marshall Stoneham 3 1 Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 2 Department of Materials, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK 3 London Centre for Nanotechnology, 17-19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH, UK; E-Mail: a.stoneham@ucl.ac.uk * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mails: brookes@ (J.C.B.); a.horsfield@imperial.ac.uk (A.P.H.); Tel./Fax: +44-0-20-7594-6753. Received: 31 August 2012; in revised form: 31 October 2012 / Accepted: 2 November 2012 / Published: 12 November 2012 Abstract: Just how we discriminate between the different odours we encounter is not completely understood yet. While obviously a matter involving biology, the core issue is a matter for physics: what microscopic interactions enable the receptors in our noses-small protein switches—to distinguish scent molecules? We survey what is and is not known about the physical processes that take place when we smell things, highlighting the difficulties in developing a full understanding of the mechanics of odorant recognition. The main current theories, discussed here, fall into two major groups. One class emphasises the scent molecule’s shape, and is described informally as a “lock and key”