Towards “ab-initio” Computations of Electron Transfer Rates: the Early Electron Transfer Steps in Bacterial Photosynthetic Reaction Centers

Recent developments in the dynamics of the elementary electron transfer reactions are reviewed. Attention is mainly focused on discrete state approaches, which combine use of a few experimental data with ab initio calculation of the normal coordinates of vibration of the redox partners. Applications to the early electron transfer in bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers and future perspectives are then discussed.