Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics of Macromolecular Systems

by Michael Bachmann

Overview

The structural mechanics of proteins that fold into functional shapes, polymers that aggregate and form clusters, and organic macromolecules that bind to inorganic matter can only be understood through statistical physics and thermodynamics. This book reviews the statistical mechanics concepts and tools necessary for the study of structure formation processes in macromolecular systems that are essentially influenced by finite-size and surface effects. Readers are introduced to molecular modeling approaches, advanced Monte Carlo simulation techniques, and systematic statistical analyses of numerical data. Applications to folding, aggregation, and substrate adsorption processes of polymers and proteins are discussed in great detail. Particular emphasis is placed on the reduction of complexity by coarse-grained modeling, which allows for the efficient, systematic investigation of structural phases and transitions. Providing insight into modern research at this interface between physics, chemistry, biology, and nanotechnology, this book is an excellent reference for graduate students and researchers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781139904308
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/24/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	22 MB
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About the Author

Michael Bachmann is Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Georgia. His major fields of interest include theoretical physics, computational physics, statistical physics, biophysics, and chemical physics.

Table of Contents

Preface and outline; 1. Introduction; 2. Statistical mechanics: a modern review; 3. The complexity of minimalistic lattice models for protein folding; 4. Monte Carlo and chain growth methods for molecular simulations; 5. First insights to freezing and collapse of flexible polymers; 6. Crystallization of elastic polymers; 7. Structural phases of semiflexible polymers; 8. Generic tertiary folding properties of proteins in mesoscopic scales; 9. Protein folding channels and kinetics of two-state folding; 10. Inducing generic secondary structures by constraints; 11. Statistical analyses of aggregation processes; 12. Hierarchical nature of phase transitions; 13. Adsorption of polymers at solid substrates; 14. Hybrid protein-substrate interfaces; 15. Concluding remarks and outlook; Notes; References; Index.