Entropy driven key-lock assembly
Abstract
The effective interaction between a sphere with an open cavity (lock) and a spherical macroparticle (key), both immersed in a hard sphere fluid, is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. As a result, a 2d map of the key-lock effective interaction potential is constructed, which leads to the proposal of a self-assembling mechanism: there exists trajectories through which the key-lock pair could assemble avoiding trespassing potential barriers. Hence, solely the entropic contribution can induce their self-assembling even in the absence of attractive forces. This study points out the solvent contribution within the underlying mechanisms of substrate-protein assembly/disassembly processes, which are important steps of the enzyme catalysis and protein mediated transport.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1010.3000,
title = {Entropy driven key-lock assembly},
author = {Gerardo Odriozola and Felipe Jiménez-Ángeles and Marcelo Lozada-Cassou},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1010.3000},
year = {2015}
}