Protonic Capacitor Cell Energetics: Serious Problems to Consider
Todd P Silverstein*
3800 West 57th Terrace, Fairway, KS 66205, USA
*Corresponding Author: Todd P Silverstein, Chemistry Department (Emeritus),
Willamette University, Salem, OR 97301, USA.
Received:
August 31, 2026; Published: October 14, 2026
Abstract
In a recent Landmark Review (Amer. J. Physiol.-Cell Physiol. (2025) 329: C1944-1984), James Lee described his body of
published work employing the transmembrane-electrostatically localized protons/cations charges (TELPs/TELCs) hypothesis. In
addition to enumerating the usefulness of his model in explaining basic biological processes like oxidative phosphorylation and
neurotransmission, and in re-interpreting experimental results reported by others, Lee strove to express and support his conclusion
that “the putative potential well/barrier model is not needed to explain… protonic bioenergetics”. In this paper I critique this
unwarranted conclusion, and also enumerate other serious problems with the equations, calculations, conclusions, and presentation
of the scientific literature found in Lee’s Landmark Review.
Keywords: Capacitor; Protons
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