The Physics of Protein Structure and Dynamics looks at various aspects of protein structure and dynamics from a physico-chemical point of view. It goes into some depth regarding the description of non-covalent forces that determine the relative stability of folded and unfolded proteins. Anharmonic protein dynamics involving motions between different minima of a rugged Gibbs energy landscape is described in great detail. The book combines various aspects of the protein folding/unfolding processes with an overview of intrinsically disordered proteins, which have attracted considerable interest of the protein community over the last 25 years but are thus far underrepresented in classroom-oriented textbooks. The book looks at protein folding and intrinsically disordered proteins as heavily interrelated topics that need to be viewed together. Furthermore, it presents some basic physico-chemical aspects of protein/peptide self-assembly into nanoscale fibrils. Intrinsically disordered peptides and proteins play a major role particularly in aggregation and self-assembly processes that lead to various diseases (Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington, Mad-Cow). Therefore, the relevance of protein disorder for protein self-assembly deserves a closer look. Protein self-assembly cannot be separated from protein folding since it is frequently the product of misfolding. With regard to modern theories, the folding processes are linked to insights on protein dynamics and the discovered relationship between proteins and spin glasses. - The readers will benefit from being provided with an in-depth overview of the physical concepts that govern different aspects of protein folding, disorder and self-assembly. By emphasizing the relationship between these issues, the approach adds a holistic character to the book - The book is to a major extent mathematically based. Mathematics is part of the language of physicists and physical chemists which cannot be properly substituted by words - For instructors, the book will offer a unique source for her/his teaching of current protein physics issues - The way how the book will be constructed (multiple references to primary literature with DOI links, literature-based problem sets and topics for discussion) will facilitate a learning process suitable for research-oriented students - Problem solving frequently requires the writing of short computer programs, something that is underemphasized in chemistry and biochemistry education (with the exception of computationally trained students, of course)

Provides an introduction to the structure and function of biomolecules --- especially proteins --- and the physical tools used to investigate them The discussion concentrates on physical tools and properties, emphasizing techniques that are contributing to new developments and avoiding those that are already well established and whose results have already been exploited fully New tools appear regularly - synchrotron radiation, proton radiology, holography, optical tweezers, and muon radiography, for example, have all been used to open new areas of understanding

Presenting a wide-ranging view of current developments in protein research, the papers in this collection, each written by highly regarded experts in the field, examine various aspects of protein structure, functions, dynamics, and experimentation. Topics include dynamical simulation methods, the biological role of atom fluctuations, protein folding, influences on protein dynamics, and a variety of analytical techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, photodissociation and rebinding kinetics. This is part of a series devoted to providing general information on a wide variety of topics in chemical physics in order to stimulate new research and to serve as a text for beginners in a particular area of chemical physics.

This book discusses how biological molecules exert their function and regulate biological processes, with a clear focus on how conformational dynamics of proteins are critical in this respect. In the last decade, the advancements in computational biology, nuclear magnetic resonance including paramagnetic relaxation enhancement, and fluorescence-based ensemble/single-molecule techniques have shown that biological molecules (proteins, DNAs and RNAs) fluctuate under equilibrium conditions. The conformational and energetic spaces that these fluctuations explore likely contain active conformations that are critical for their function. More interestingly, these fluctuations can respond actively to external cues, which introduces layers of tight regulation on the biological processes that they dictate. A growing number of studies have suggested that conformational dynamics of proteins govern their role in regulating biological functions, examples of this regulation can be found in signal transduction, molecular recognition, apoptosis, protein / ion / other molecules translocation and gene expression. On the experimental side, the technical advances have offered deep insights into the conformational motions of a number of proteins. These studies greatly enrich our knowledge of the interplay between structure and function. On the theoretical side, novel approaches and detailed computational simulations have provided powerful tools in the study of enzyme catalysis, protein / drug design, protein / ion / other molecule translocation and protein folding/aggregation, to name but a few. This work contains detailed information, not only on the conformational motions of biological systems, but also on the potential governing forces of conformational dynamics (transient interactions, chemical and physical origins, thermodynamic properties). New developments in computational simulations will greatly enhance our understanding of how these molecules function in various biological events.

This book introduces an approach to protein folding from the point of view of kinetic theory. There is an abundance of data on protein folding, but few proposals are available on the mechanism driving the process. Here, presented for the first time, are suggestions on possible research directions, as developed by the author in collaboration with C C Lin.The first half of this invaluable book contains a concise but relatively complete review of relevant topics in statistical mechanics and kinetic theory. It includes standard topics such as thermodynamics, the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, and ensemble theory. Special discussions include the dynamics of phase transitions, and Brownian motion as an illustration of stochastic processes.The second half develops topics in molecular biology and protein structure, with a view to discovering mechanisms underlying protein folding. Attention is focused on the energy flow through the protein in its folded state. A mathematical model, based on the Brownian motion of coupled harmonic oscillators, is worked out in the appendix.

This volume explores experimental and computational approaches to measuring the most widely studied protein assemblies, including condensed liquid phases, aggregates, and crystals. The chapters in this book are organized into three parts: Part One looks at the techniques used to measure protein-protein interactions and equilibrium protein phases in dilute and concentrated protein solutions; Part Two describes methods to measure kinetics of aggregation and to characterize the assembled state; and Part Three details several different computational approaches that are currently used to help researchers understand protein self-assembly. 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. Thorough and cutting-edge, Protein Self-Assembly: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for researchers who are interested in learning more about this developing field.

Protein Actions: Principles and Modeling is aimed at graduates, advanced undergraduates, and any professional who seeks an introduction to the biological, chemical, and physical properties of proteins. Broadly accessible to biophysicists and biochemists, it will be particularly useful to student and professional structural biologists and molecular biophysicists, bioinformaticians and computational biologists, biological chemists (particularly drug designers) and molecular bioengineers. The book begins by introducing the basic principles of protein structure and function. Some readers will be familiar with aspects of this, but the authors build up a more quantitative approach than their competitors. Emphasizing concepts and theory rather than experimental techniques, the book shows how proteins can be analyzed using the disciplines of elementary statistical mechanics, energetics, and kinetics. These chapters illuminate how proteins attain biologically active states and the properties of those states. The book ends with a synopsis the roles of computational biology and bioinformatics in protein science.

Exploring recent developments in the field, Coarse-Graining of Condensed Phase and Biomolecular Systems examines systematic ways of constructing coarse-grained representations for complex systems. It explains how this approach can be used in the simulation and modeling of condensed phase and biomolecular systems. Assembling some of the most influential, world-renowned researchers in the field, this book covers the latest developments in the coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation and modeling of condensed phase and biomolecular systems. Each chapter focuses on specific examples of evolving coarse-graining methodologies and presents results for a variety of complex systems. The contributors discuss the minimalist, inversion, and multiscale approaches to coarse-graining, along with the emerging challenges of coarse-graining. They also connect atomic-level information with new coarse-grained representations of complex systems, such as lipid bilayers, proteins, peptides, and DNA.

With the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of structure-based drug discovery covering both experimental and computational approaches, Structural Biology in Drug Discovery: Methods, Techniques, and Practices describes principles, methods, applications, and emerging paradigms of structural biology as a tool for more efficient drug development. Coverage includes successful examples, academic and industry insights, novel concepts, and advances in a rapidly evolving field. The combined chapters, by authors writing from the frontlines of structural biology and drug discovery, give readers a valuable reference and resource that: Presents the benefits, limitations, and potentiality of major techniques in the field such as X-ray crystallography, NMR, neutron crystallography, cryo-EM, mass spectrometry and other biophysical techniques, and computational structural biology Includes detailed chapters on druggability, allostery, complementary use of thermodynamic and kinetic information, and powerful approaches such as structural chemogenomics and fragment-based drug design Emphasizes the need for the in-depth biophysical characterization of protein targets as well as of therapeutic proteins, and for a thorough quality assessment of experimental structures Illustrates advances in the field of established therapeutic targets like kinases, serine proteinases, GPCRs, and epigenetic proteins, and of more challenging ones like protein-protein interactions and intrinsically disordered proteins

A number of factors have come together in the last couple of decades to define the emerging interdisciplinary field of structural molecular biology. First, there has been the considerable growth in our ability to obtain atomic-resolution structural data for biological molecules in general, and proteins in particular. This is a result of advances in technique, both in x-ray crystallography, driven by the development of electronic detectors and of synchrotron radiation x-ray sources, and by the development ofNMR techniques which allow for inference of a three-dimensional structure of a protein in solution. Second, there has been the enormous development of techniques in DNA engineering which makes it possible to isolate and clone specific molecules of interest in sufficient quantities to enable structural measurements. In addition, the ability to mutate a given amino acid sequence at will has led to a new branch of biochemistry in which quantitative measurements can be made assessing the influence of a given amino acid on the function of a biological molecule. A third factor, resulting from the exponential increase in computing power available to researchers, has been the emergence of a growing body of people who can take the structural data and use it to build atomic-scale models of biomolecules in order to try and simulate their motions in an aqueous environment, thus helping to provide answers to one of the most basic questions of molecular biology: the relation of structure to function.