Related papers: Solute Effects on the Helix-Coil Transition
We analyze the problem of the helix-coil transition in explicit solvents analytically by using spin-based models incorporating two different mechanisms of solvent action: explicit solvent action through the formation of solvent-polymer…
In this paper we summarize some results of our theoretical investigations of helix-coil transition both in single-strand (polypeptides) and two-strand (polynucleotides) macromolecules. The Hamiltonian does not contain any parameter designed…
The problem of the helix-coil transition of biopolymers in explicit solvents, like water, with the ability for hydrogen bonding with solvent is addressed analytically using a suitably modified version of the Generalized Model of Polypeptide…
We study helix-coil transitions in an all-atom model of polyalanine. Molecules of up to length 30 residues are investigated by multicanonical simulations. Results from two implicit solvent models are compared with each other and with that…
Helix-coil transitions in poly-alanine molecules of length 10 are studied by multicanonical Monte Carlo simulations. The solvation effects are included by either a distance-dependent dielectric permittivity or by a term that is proportional…
Most helix-coil transition theories can be characterized by a set of three parameters: energetic, describing the (free) energy cost of forming a helical state in one repeating unit; entropic, accounting for the decrease of entropy due to…
The authors study the short-time dynamics of helix-forming polypeptide chains using an all-atom representation of the molecules and an implicit solvation model to approximate the interaction with the surrounding solvent. The results confirm…
We analyze a model statistical description of the polypeptide chain helix-coil transition, where we take into account the specificity of its primary sequence, as quantified by the phase space volume ratio of the number of all accessible…
In view of the important role helix-sheet transitions play in protein aggregation, we introduce a simple model to study secondary structural transitions of helix-coil-sheet systems using a Potts model starting with an effective Hamiltonian.…
Using multicanonical simulations, the authors study the effect of charged end groups on helix formation in alanine based polypeptides. They confirm earlier reports that neutral polyalanine exhibits a pronounced helix-coil transition in gas…
The helix-coil transition is modified by grafting to a surface. This modification is studied for short peptides capable of forming $\alpha$-helices. Three factors are involved: (i) the grafting can induced change of the boundary free energy…
By taking into account base-base stacking interactions we improve the Generalized Model of Polypeptide Chain (GMPC). Based on a one-dimensional Potts-like model with many-particle interactions, the GMPC describes the helix-coil transition…
For a model deca-alanine peptide the cavity (ideal hydrophobic) contribution to hydration favors the helix state in the coil-to-helix transition and the paired helix bundle in the assembly of two helices. The energetic contributions of…
The coil-globule transition of hetero-polymer chains is studied here. By means of extensive Molecular Dynamics simulations, we show that the transition is directly linked to the complexity of the chain, which depends on the number of…
We report on multicanonical simulations of the helix-coil transition of a polypeptide. The nature of this transition was studied by calculating partition function zeros and the finite-size scaling of various quantities. Estimates for…
We report circular dichroism measurements on the helix-coil transition of poly(L-glutamic acid) in solution with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a crowding agent. Using small angle neutron scattering, PEG solutions have been characterized and…
The thermodynamics of a homopolymeric chain with both Van der Waals and highly-directional hydrogen bond interaction is studied. The effect of hydrogen bonds is to reduce dramatically the entropy of low-lying states and to give raise to…
Phase transitions in polar binary mixtures can be drastically altered even by a small amount of salt. This is because the preferential solvation strongly depends on the ambient composition. Together with a summary of our research in this…
We present the exact solution of a microscopic statistical mechanical model for the transformation of a long polypeptide between an unstructured coil conformation and an $\alpha$-helix conformation. The polypeptide is assumed to be adsorbed…
We explore the coupling between the helix-coil and coil-globule transitions of a helical polymer using Monte Carlo simulations. A very rich state diagram is found. Each state is characterized by a specific configuration of the chain which…