Related papers: Protein crystals and charged surfaces: interaction…

Crystallization of supersaturated liquids usually starts by heterogeneous nucleation. Mounting evidence shows that even homogeneous nucleation in simple liquids takes place in two steps; first a dense amorphous precursor forms, and the…

The three dimensional structure of a protein is an outcome of the interactions of its constituent amino acids in 3D space. Considering the amino acids as nodes and the interactions among them as edges we have constructed and analyzed…

The behaviour and stability of soft and biological matter depend significantly on electrostatic interactions, as particles such as proteins and colloids acquire a charge when dispersed in an electrolytic solution. A typical simplification…

We report simulations on the homogeneous liquid-fcc nucleation of charged colloids for both low and high contact energy values. As a precursor for crystal formation, we observe increased local order at the position where the crystal will…

What can cells gain by using disordered, rather than folded, proteins in the architecture of their skeleton? Disordered proteins take multiple co-existing conformations, and often contain segments which act as random-walk-shaped polymers.…

We present a statistical mechanics approach to the protein folding problem. We first review some of the basic properties of proteins, and introduce some physical models to describe their thermodynamics. These models rely on a random…

A striking shape was recently observed for the cellular organelle endoplasmic reticulum consisting of stacked sheets connected by helical ramps. This shape is interesting both for its biological function, to synthesize proteins using an…

The relationship between surfaces of constant charge density and triply-periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) has been the subject of considerable speculation over many years. Zero-potential surfaces generated by an electrostatic field from a…

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the crystallization pathways of two exemplary systems that form the same complex crystal structure but differ fundamentally in the nature of their particle interactions. One system is…

Optical fields can induce forces between microscopic objects, thus giving rise to new structures of matter. We study theoretically these optical forces between two spheres, either isolated in water, or in presence of a flat dielectric…

The nuclear interaction is responsible for keeping neutrons and protons joined in an atomic nucleus. Phenomenological nuclear potentials, fitted to experimental data, allow one to know about the nuclear behaviour with more or less success…

While the important role of electrostatic interactions in aqueous colloidal suspensions is widely known and reasonably well-understood, the relevance of charge in nonpolar suspensions remains mysterious. We demonstrate that particles can…

We consider two charged semipermeable membranes, which bound bulk electrolyte solutions and are separated by a thin film of salt-free liquid. Small counter-ions permeate into the gap, which leads to a steric charge separation in the system.…

At low temperatures the interactions between like-oriented steps on a surface are believed to be dominated by elastic repulsions. This belief is based on the results of the classical continuum field theories of elasticity. Electrostatic…

We apply a phenomenological theory of polar liquids to calculate the interaction energy between two plane surfaces at nm-distances. We show that depending on the properties of the surface-liquid interfaces, the interacting surfaces induce…

We give an example of a geometry in which the electrostatic force between a point charge and a neutral metallic object is repulsive. The example consists of a point charge centered above a thin metallic hemisphere, positioned concave up. We…

Proteins are the common constituents of all living cells. They are molecular machines that interact with each other as well as with other cell products and carry out a dizzying array of functions with distinction. These interactions follow…

Chain-like macromolecules (polymers) show characteristic adsorption properties due to their flexibility and internal degrees of freedom, when attracted to surfaces and interfaces. In this review we discuss concepts and features that are…

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…

In biomimetic and biological systems, interactions between surfaces are often mediated by adhesive molecules, nanoparticles, or colloids dispersed in the surrounding solution. We present here a general, statistical-mechanical model for two…