A biomimetic long-range electron transfer (ET) system consisting of the blue copper protein azurin, a tunneling barrier bridge, and a gold single-crystal electrode was designed on the basis of molecular wiring self-assembly principles. This system is sufficiently stable and sensitive in a quasi-biological environment, suitable for detailed observations of long-range protein interfacial ET at the nanoscale and single-molecule levels. Because azurin is located at clearly identifiable fixed sites in well controlled orientation, the ET configuration parallels biological ET. The ET is nonadiabatic, and the rate constants display tunneling features with distance-decay factors of 0.83 and 0.91 Ă
Ű1 in H2O and D2O, respectively. Redoxgated tunneling resonance is observed in situ at the single-molecule level by using electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy, exhibiting an asymmetric dependence on the redox potential. Maximum resonance appears around the equilibrium redox potential of azurin with an onÍoff current ratio of Ï·9. Simulation analyses, based on a two-step interfacial ET model for the scanning tunneling microscopy redox process, were performed and provide quantitative information for rational understanding of the ET mechanism.blue copper protein Í scanning tunneling microscopy Í nanoscale bioelectronics Í bioelectrochemistry C harge transfer plays key roles in many chemical and biological processes as well as in molecular electronics (1-5). For example, long-range protein electron transfer (ET) is central in aerobic respiration and photosynthesis. The importance of longrange ET is illustrated by a recent special issue of PNAS on this topic (6-12). Several articles reflect broadly the current status of this subject. However, one of the major objectives in nanoscale science and technology is to fabricate molecular electronic devices with specified functions. Molecular electronics is rooted in the concept of molecular charge transfer (particularly, molecular conductivity) (13,14). Two essential steps involved in bottom-up manipulations are (i) organizing molecules into nanoscale structures and (ii) interfacing such nanostructures with macroscopically addressable components (e.g., metal and semiconductor electrodes). Molecular electronic device function thus rests fundamentally on charge transfer through organic andÍor biological molecules and across the interface between molecules and macroscopic electrodes (15, 16). Understanding of charge transfer mechanisms has mostly been based on average results of macroscopic measurements. The advent of scanning probe microscopies, along with other supersensitive techniques, has made it possible to characterize or directly observe charge transfer through organic molecules down to the nanoscale and single-molecule levels, as illustrated by measurements of singlemolecule conductivity (17-21) and probing of molecular switching and resonant tunneling (22,23). This, however, remains a daunting challenge for proteins, with difficulties arising from the assembly of suitable st...