Soft Condensed Matter Physics in Molecular and Cell Biology

ISBN-13: 9780750310239 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 344 str.

W. C. K. Poon; D. Andelman

Opis

The focus of Soft Condensed Matter Physics in Molecular and Cell Biology is based on the poignant realization that biology is soft matter come alive. The chapters in this volume originated as lectures in the NATO Advanced Science Institute and Scottish Universities Summer Schools in Physics. The book provides a thorough grounding in the fundamental nature and properties of soft matter, and then explores its application in biology, especially with regard to DNA investigations, and the study of protein behavior. The final section of the book considers experimental techniques, covering single molecule force spectroscopy of proteins, the use of optical tweezers, and solution scattering.

Spis treści

INTRODUCTION: Coarse graining in biological soft matter The atomistic description of globular proteins: the tertiary structure Coarse-graining : level 1 Secondary structure; Coarse-graining : level 2 Domains Coarse-graining : level 3 Proteins as colloids Further coarse-graining I. SOFT MATTER BACKGROUND Introduction to colloidal systems Colloidal phase behaviour; Colloid dynamics The physics of floppy polymers Statistical physics of single chains Statistical physics of many chains Polymer dynamics Self-assembly and properties of lipid membranes The constituents of lipid bilayer membranes Self assembly Bilayer membrane phases Membrane energies Fluctuations Domains, shapes and other current issues Some aspects of membrane elasticity Gibbs' description Description in terms of microscopic properties Equations of equilibrium and shape of interfaces Introduction to electrostatics in soft and biological matter The Poisson-Boltzmann theory Poisson-Boltzmann equation: planar geometry; Poisson-Boltzmann equation: cylindrical coordinates; Poisson-Boltzmann equation: spherical coordinates -- Charged colloids Beyond the Poisson-Boltzmann treatment Thermal Barrier Hopping in Biological Physics A preliminary: Diffusion on a flat landscape First passage times: an exact result Landscapes and intermediate states Higher-dimensional barrier crossing II. BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS Elasticity and dynamics of cytoskeletal filaments and their networks Single-filament properties Solutions of semi-flexible polymer Network elasticity Nonlinear response Twisting and stretching DNA: Single-molecule studies Micromanipulation techniques Stretching DNA DNA under torsion DNA-protein interactions Interactions and conformational fluctuations in DNA arrays Electrostatic interactions Equation of state: No thermal fluctuations; Effect of thermal fluctuations (1) Effect of thermal fluctuations (2) Sequence-structure relationships in proteins Energy functions for fold recognition The evolutionary capacity of

O autorze

W. C. K. Poon, D. Andelman