Whole Cells - Molecular Theory of the Living Cell - page 433

the special relevance of Gibbs free energy (among many other forms of energy
including the Helmholtz free energy, enthalpy, etc.) to the biochemical reactions
proceeding in homeothermic organisms. Thus, for all spontaneous processes occur-
ring under homeothermic and constant pressure conditions, the accompanying
Gibbs free energy change must be negative:

D G ¼ D E þ P D V T D S < 0 (12.34)

where E is the internal energy of the thermodynamic system under consideration,
V is its volume, and S is its entropy content (see Eq. 2.1 ).
Just as photons are related to the electronic energy levels in atoms and
conformons are associated with the mechanical energy levels in biopolymers, so
it is here postulated that dissipatons are related to the Gibbs free energy levels or
chemical potentials (Wall 1958, pp. 193-195; Moore 1963, p. 98) of biopolymers
inside the cell that associate themselves transiently to form a functional unit (i.e., a
SOWAWN machine) for the purpose of catalyzing a specific metabolic process or
pathway. In other words, just as atoms contain a set of electronic energy levels (see
the left panel of Fig. 11.28 ) and enzymes contain a set of mechanical energy levels
(see the right panel of Fig. 11.28 ), so it is hypothesized that:
Cells contain a set of Gibbs free energy levels, some of which being associated with or
occupied by biopolymers constituting a dissipation (also called a SOWAWN machine
or hyperstructure) that catalyzes a metabolic function.

(12.35)

For convenience, Statement 12.34 will be referred to as the Postulate of the
Quantization of Intracellular Gibbs Free Energy Levels (QIGFEL) postulate. The
QIGFEL postulate may be viewed as addressing the energetic aspect of cell
metabolism, whereas the theories of SOWAWN machines (Sect. 2.4.3 ) and
hyperstructures (Sect. 2.4.4 ) focus on the structural and informational aspect of
cell metabolism. In other words, the QIGFEL postulate and the theories of
SOWAWN machines and hyperstructures may be viewed as complementary
aspects of the phenomenon of cell metabolism driven by gnergy (Sect. 4.11 ).
o In physics, the term “field” is defined as a region of space at every point of
which a physical property, such as gravitational or electromagnetic force or fluid
pressure, has a characteristic value. Electrons in an atom can be said to exist in an
electromagnetic field at every point of which electrons possess unique values for
their potential and kinetic energies.
p The interior of a biopolymer may be viewed as a field at every point of which a
mechanical stress can be defined that arises from physical properties such as
electrical, mechanical, and van der Waals interactions among the monomeric
units of biopolymers.
q Unlike the mechanical stress field confined within a biopolymer described in
Footnote 16 which is “intramolecular”and “node-dependent,” the concentration
field postulated to exist inside the cell is an “extramolecular,” “intermolecular,”
and “network-dependent” property. Consequently, Eqs. 12.26 and 2.27 or their
equivalents may apply to the concentrating field inside the cell but not to the
mechanical stress field within a biopolymer.