Status of long-distance electrodynamic intermolecular interactions

Characterize and resolve the outstanding issues in long-distance electrodynamic intermolecular interactions between biomolecules by establishing a definitive theoretical and experimental description of their nature, scope, and implications for biomolecular recognition and catalysis.

Background

The paper models electron-phonon dynamics along DNA and the EcoRI restriction enzyme, showing sequence-dependent co-resonance in electron current spectra consistent with selective biomolecular interactions. While recent experiments have indicated the presence of long-range electrodynamic forces in biological systems, the broader community debate about their mechanisms, prevalence, and relevance remains active.

By explicitly noting the ongoing debate, the authors position their work as contributing evidence and modeling toward understanding such interactions, but they acknowledge that the larger questions surrounding long-distance electrodynamic forces in biomolecular contexts are not yet settled.

References

Second, the work here reported contributes to the still open discussion of long-distance electrodynamic intermolecular interactions, which have recently been demonstrated experimentally [SciAdv,buchanan].

— Electrodynamic forces driving DNA-protein interactions at large distances  (2412.12127 - Faraji et al., 2024) in Section VI (Concluding remarks)

Yet, how such retardation effects manifest themselves in collective ICD processes remains an open question.

— Collective intermolecular Coulombic decay beyond Coulomb  (2608.24692 - Falkowski et al., 25 Aug 2026) in Section 1, Introduction