FROM THE LANGEVIN-LORENTZ TO THE ZEEMAN MODEL OF ELECTROMAGNETIC EFFECTS ON LIGAND RECEPTOR-BINDING

This paper attempts to elucidate the mechanism of action of electromagnetic exposure on ligand-receptor binding. The classical Langevin-Lorentz model, which can be used to describe the adsorption process of a messenger ion, is reviewed and discussed. We conclude that low intensity exposure does not affect appreciably the ion dynamics in the presence of background thermal white noise. A more realistic evaluation of the endogenous field present in a binding site leads to a quantum model based on weak Zeeman-Stark effects. The case of the Zeeman effect is studied in detail assuming a three-state binding site. The density operator method is used, introducing suitable lifetimes which model the thermal bath interaction. The closed form expression for the binding probability is found, as a function of the ligand-receptor parameters and of the electromagnetic sinusoidal exposure.