Speed limits on biomolecular processes from fundamental physical constants

Dmitrii E Makarov

Speed limits on biomolecular processes from fundamental physical constants

Chemical Physics 2026-07-05 v1 Statistical Mechanics Biological Physics

Authors: Dmitrii E Makarov

Abstract

Many of the timescales of life have speed limits set by quantum-mechanical constraints along with non-fundamental quantities, such as the temperature of the environment, which are however bounded by anthropic considerations. Here, some of such speed limits are examined, including those for the rates of elementary chemical reactions and biomolecular folding. Limitations of simple back-of-envelope estimates are also discussed.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.04549,
  title  = {Speed limits on biomolecular processes from fundamental physical constants},
  author = {Dmitrii E Makarov},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.04549},
  year   = {2026}
}