Digital Operation of Microelectronic Circuits Analogous to Protein Hydrogen Bonding Networks

Two hydrogen bonding networks with water molecules and branching residues extracted from β-lactamase protein are investigated and their proton transfer characteristics are studied by creating analogous electrical circuits consisting of block-elements. The block-elements and their proton transfer are described by polynomials that are coded in Matlab and in Verilog-A for use in the Spectre simulator of Cadence IC design system. DC and digital pulse analyses are performed to demonstrate that some circuit outputs behave as repeaters while other - behave as inverters. The results also showed that the HBN circuits might behave as a D-latch and a demultiplexer.