The aim this volume is to present the methods, challenges, software, and applications of this widespread and yet still evolving and maturing field. Computational Protein Design, the first book with this title, guides readers through computational protein design approaches, software and tailored solutions to specific case-study targets. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Computational Protein Design aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

Experimental protein engineering and computational protein design are broad but complementary strategies for developing proteins with altered or novel structural properties and biological functions. By describing cutting-edge advances in both of these fields, Protein Engineering and Design aims to cultivate a synergistic approach to protein science

This volume provides a collection of protocols and approaches for the creation of novel ligand binding proteins, compiled and described by many of today's leaders in the field of protein engineering. Chapters focus on modeling protein ligand binding sites, accurate modeling of protein-ligand conformational sampling, scoring of individual docked solutions, structure-based design program such as ROSETTA, protein engineering, and additional methodological approaches. Examples of applications include the design of metal-binding proteins and light-induced ligand binding proteins, the creation of binding proteins that also display catalytic activity, and the binding of larger peptide, protein, DNA and RNA ligands. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

The papers collected in this volume reproduce contributions by leading sch- arstoaninternationalschoolandworkshopwhichwasorganizedandheldwith thegoaloftakinga snapshotofadiscipline undertumultuous growth. Indeed, the area of protein folding, docking and alignment is developing in response to needs for a mix of heterogeneous expertise spanning biology, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, and statistics, among others. Some of the problems encountered in this area are not only important for the scienti?c challenges they pose, but also for the opportunities they disclose intermsofmedicalandindustrialexploitation. Atypicalexampleiso?eredby protein-drug interaction (docking), a problem posing daunting computational problems at the crossroads of geometry, physics and chemistry, and, at the same time, a problem with unimaginable implications for the pharmacopoeia of the future. The schoolfocused on problems posed by the study of the mechanisms - hind protein folding, and explored di?erent ways of attacking these problems under objective evaluations of the methods. Together with a relatively small core of consolidated knowledge and tools, important re?ections were brought to this e?ort by studies in a multitude of directions and approaches. It is obviously impossible to predict which, if any, among these techniques will prove completely successful, but it is precisely the implicit dialectic among them that best conveys the current ?avor of the ?eld. Such unique diversity and richness inspired the format of the meeting, and also explains the slight departure of the present volume from the typical format in this series: the exposition of the current sediment is complemented here by a selection of quali?ed specialized contributions.

A one-stop reference that reviews protein design strategies to applications in industrial and medical biotechnology Protein Engineering: Tools and Applications is a comprehensive resource that offers a systematic and comprehensive review of the most recent advances in the field, and contains detailed information on the methodologies and strategies behind these approaches. The authors—noted experts on the topic—explore the distinctive advantages and disadvantages of the presented methodologies and strategies in a targeted and focused manner that allows for the adaptation and implementation of the strategies for new applications. The book contains information on the directed evolution, rational design, and semi-rational design of proteins and offers a review of the most recent applications in industrial and medical biotechnology. This important book: Covers technologies and methodologies used in protein engineering Includes the strategies behind the approaches, designed to help with the adaptation and implementation of these strategies for new applications Offers a comprehensive and thorough treatment of protein engineering from primary strategies to applications in industrial and medical biotechnology Presents cutting edge advances in the continuously evolving field of protein engineering Written for students and professionals of bioengineering, biotechnology, biochemistry, Protein Engineering: Tools and Applications offers an essential resource to the design strategies in protein engineering and reviews recent applications.

A solution to the protein folding problem has eluded researchers for more than 30 years. The stakes are high. Such a solution will make 40,000 more tertiary structures available for immediate study by translating the DNA sequence information in the sequence databases into three-dimensional protein structures. This translation will be indispensable for the analy sis of results from the Human Genome Project, de novo protein design, and many other areas of biotechnological research. Finally, an in-depth study of the rules of protein folding should provide vital clues to the protein fold ing process. The search for these rules is therefore an important objective for theoretical molecular biology. Both experimental and theoretical ap proaches have been used in the search for a solution, with many promising results but no general solution. In recent years, there has been an exponen tial increase in the power of computers. This has triggered an incredible outburst of theoretical approaches to solving the protein folding problem ranging from molecular dynamics-based studies of proteins in solution to the actual prediction of protein structures from first principles. This volume attempts to present a concise overview of these advances. Adrian Roitberg and Ron Elber describe the locally enhanced sam pling/simulated annealing conformational search algorithm (Chapter 1), which is potentially useful for the rapid conformational search of larger molecular systems.

An overview of algorithms important to computational structural biology that addresses such topics as NMR and design and analysis of proteins.Using the tools of information technology to understand the molecular machinery of the cell offers both challenges and opportunities to computational scientists. Over the past decade, novel algorithms have been developed both for analyzing biological data and for synthetic biology problems such as protein engineering. This book explains the algorithmic foundations and computational approaches underlying areas of structural biology including NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance); X-ray crystallography; and the design and analysis of proteins, peptides, and small molecules. Each chapter offers a concise overview of important concepts, focusing on a key topic in the field. Four chapters offer a short course in algorithmic and computational issues related to NMR structural biology, giving the reader a useful toolkit with which to approach the fascinating yet thorny computational problems in this area. A recurrent theme is understanding the interplay between biophysical experiments and computational algorithms. The text emphasizes the mathematical foundations of structural biology while maintaining a balance between algorithms and a nuanced understanding of experimental data. Three emerging areas, particularly fertile ground for research students, are highlighted: NMR methodology, design of proteins and other molecules, and the modeling of protein flexibility. The next generation of computational structural biologists will need training in geometric algorithms, provably good approximation algorithms, scientific computation, and an array of techniques for handling noise and uncertainty in combinatorial geometry and computational biophysics. This book is an essential guide for young scientists on their way to research success in this exciting field.

This is a comprehensive introduction to Landau-Lifshitz equations and Landau-Lifshitz-Maxwell equations, beginning with the work by Yulin Zhou and Boling Guo in the early 1980s and including most of the work done by this Chinese group led by Zhou and Guo since. The book focuses on aspects such as the existence of weak solutions in multi dimensions, existence and uniqueness of smooth solutions in one dimension, relations with harmonic map heat flows, partial regularity and long time behaviors. The book is a valuable reference book for those who are interested in partial differential equations, geometric analysis and mathematical physics. It may also be used as an advanced textbook by graduate students in these fields.

An All-Inclusive Review of the Achievements and Trends in the Fast-Growing Protein Engineering Field From humble beginnings like making fire for mere survival, engineering now steadfastly penetrates all aspects of our lives and even life itself at the molecular level. Protein engineering is a molecular biological discipline focused on designing and