Related papers: Simple models for charge and salt effects in prote…
The osmotic virial coefficient $B_2$ of globular protein solutions is calculated as a function of added salt concentration at fixed pH by computer simulations of the ``primitive model''. The salt and counter-ions as well as a discrete…
Electrostatic interactions involving proteins depend not just on the ionic charges involved but also on their chemical identities. Here we examine the origins of incompletely understood differences in the strength of association of…
The effects of additions of low-molecular-mass salts on the properties of aqueous lysozyme solutions are examined by using the cloud-point temperature, $T_{cloud}$, measurements. Mixtures of protein, buffer, and simple salt in water are…
Proteins' fuzziness are features for communicating changes in cell signaling instigated by binding with secondary messengers, such as calcium ions, associated with the coordination of muscle contraction, neurotransmitter release, and gene…
We studied the crystallization of a globular protein, lysozyme, in the cubic phase of the lipid monoolein. The solubility of lysozyme in salt solution decreased by a factor of $\sim 4$ when confined in cubic phase. Calculations and Monte…
Bacteria typically have a few thousand different proteins. The number of proteins with a given charge is a roughly Gaussian function of charge - centred near zero, and with a width around ten (in units of the charge on the proton). We have…
We study the electrical double layer at the interface between a protein crystal and a salt solution or a dilute solution of protein, and estimate the double layer's contribution to the interfacial tension of this interface. This…
We investigate theoretically the fluid-crystal coexistence of solutions of globular charged nanoparticles like proteins and inorganic colloids. The thermodynamic properties of the fluid phase are computed via the optimized Baxter model.…
Protein aggregation via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is ubiquitous in nature and intimately connects to many human diseases. Although it is widely known that the addition of salt has crucial impacts on the LLPS of protein, full…
Different aspects of protein folding are illustrated by simplified polymer models. Stressing the diversity of side chains (residues) leads one to view folding as the freezing transition of an heteropolymer. Technically, the most common…
Ionic crystals, such as solid electrolytes and complex oxides, are central to modern technologies for energy storage, sensing, actuation, and other functional applications. An important fundamental issue in the atomic and quantum-scale…
Protein crystallization in vivo provides some fascinating examples of biological self-assembly. Here, we provide a selective survey to show the diversity of functions for which protein crystals are used, and the physical properties of the…
Electrostatic interactions play a fundamental role in the structure and function of proteins. Due to ionizable amino acid residues present on the solvent-exposed surfaces of proteins, the protein charge is not constant but varies with the…
A theory is set up of spherical proteins interacting by screened electrostatics and constant adhesion, in which the effective adhesion parameter is optimized by a variational principle for the free energy. An analytical approach to the…
Theories of protein crystallization based on spheres that form close-packed crystals predict optimal assembly within a `slot' of second virial coefficients and enhanced assembly near the metastable liquid-vapor critical point. However, most…
Interactions between actin, an anionic polyelectrolyte, and lysozyme, a cationic globular protein, have been examined using a combination of synchrotron small-angle x-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations. Lysozyme initially…
We report theoretical and simulation studies of phase coexistence in model globular protein solutions, based on short-range, central, pair potential representations of the interaction among macro-particles. After reviewing our previous…
The ability to control the crystallization behaviour (including its absence) of particles, be they biomolecules such as globular proteins, inorganic colloids, nanoparticles, or metal atoms in an alloy, is of both fundamental and…
Tuning of protein surface charge is a fundamental mechanism in biological systems. Protein charge is regulated in a physiological context by pH and interaction with counterions. We report on charge inversion and the related reentrant…
Ionic solids and melts are compounds in which the interactions are dominated by electrostatic effects. However, the polarization of the ions also plays an important role in many respects as has been clarified in recent years thanks to the…