Related papers: Protein structure, activity and thermal stability …
Biomolecular condensates form by phase separation of biological polymers and have important functions in the cell $-$ functions that are inherently connected to their physical properties. A remarkable aspect of such condensates is that…
There is a long-standing question about the molecular configuration of interfacial water molecules in the proximity of solid surfaces, particularly carbon atoms which play a crucial role in electrochemistry and biology. In this study, the…
Nucleation and film coalescence represent two fundamentally different pathways for capillary condensation. Yet, both have so far been proposed as the processes driving the condensation in nanometric confinements, leading to a long-standing…
Extensive Monte Carlo folding simulations for four proteins of various structural classes are carried out, using a single atomistic potential. In all cases, collapse occurs at a very early stage, and proteins fold into their native-like…
Helices are a key folding motif in protein structure. The question which factors determine helix stability for a given polypeptide or protein is an ongoing challenge. Here we use van der Waals corrected density-functional theory to address…
Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the temperature-dependent dynamics and structures of the hydration shells of elastin-like and collagen-like peptides. For both model peptides, it is consistently observed that, upon…
Thermal unfolding of proteins is compared to folding and mechanical stretching in a simple topology-based dynamical model. We define the unfolding time and demonstrate its low-temperature divergence. Below a characteristic temperature,…
By the combination of optical tweezer manipulation and digital video microscopy, the flexural rigidity of single glycolipid "nano" tubes has been measured below the transition temperature at which the lipid tubules are transformed into…
At low temperatures proteins exist in a glassy state, a state which has no conformational flexibility and shows no biological functions. In a hydrated protein, at and above 220 K, this flexibility is restored and the protein is able to…
Polymer nanofibers with high thermal conductivities and outstanding thermal stabilities are highly desirable in heat transfer-critical applications such as thermal management, heat exchangers and energy storage. In this work, we unlock the…
We investigated the dynamics of a binary mixture confined within van der Waals (vdW) walls using molecular dynamics simulations. We discovered a novel phenomenon named perpendicular separations of two phases (PSTP). In the initial stage,…
We propose a scenario for the prebiotic co-evolution of RNA and of fast folding proteins with large entropy gaps as observed today. We show from very general principles that the folding and unfolding of the proteins synthesized by RNA can…
To facilitate the transition of quantum effects from the controlled laboratory environment to practical real-world applications, there is a pressing need for scalable platforms. One promising strategy involves integrating thermal vapors…
The understanding of dynamics and functioning of biological membranes and in particular of membrane embedded proteins is one of the most fundamental problems and challenges in modern biology and biophysics. In particular the impact of…
Water is a key ingredient for life and plays a central role as solvent in many biochemical reactions. However, the intrinsically quantum nature of the hydrogen nucleus, revealing itself in a large variety of physical manifestations,…
Understanding the phase behaviors of nanoconfined water has driven notable research interests recently. In this work, we examine the structures and thermodynamics of water encapsulated under a graphene cover. We find layered water…
Sintering refers to particle coalescence by heat, which has been known as a thermal phenomenon involving all aspects of natural science for centuries. It is particularly important in heterogeneous catalysis because normally sintering…
Bubble nucleation in liquid confined in nanochannel is studied using molecular dynamics simulations and compared against nucleation in the liquid over smooth (i.e. without confinement). Nucleation is achieved by heating part of a surface to…
Heat dissipation is ubiquitous in living systems, which constantly convert distinct forms of energy into each other. The transport of thermal energy in liquids and even within proteins is well understood but kinetic energy transfer across a…
Availability of high-resolution crystal structures of ribosomal subunits of different species opens a route to investigate about molecular interactions between its constituents and stabilization strategy. Structural analysis of the small…