Theoretical Methods of Quantum Mechanics

Biochemical processes occur on different scales of length and time ranging from a few angstroms, the size of the active site of proteins, where the ultrafast triggering steps usually take place, up to the level of the cells and organs, where their macroscopic effects are detectable by the naked eye. Intermediate steps are the structural rearrangement of biomolecules (approximately nanometer and 10–100 ns), their aggregation/separation and folding/unfolding (10 nm to micrometer and greater than microsecond) and internal cell diffusion and dynamics (micrometers to millimeters and milliseconds to hours). This inherent hierarchical organization is responsible for the complexity of living matter: a single process involves a multiscale cascade of events whose description requires the combination of different methodologies in so-called multiscale approaches.