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The kinetics laws for polymer collapse and biopolymer folding
Author(s) -
Dawson K. A.,
Timoshenko E. G.,
Kuznetsov Yu. A.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.19961060111
Subject(s) - folding (dsp implementation) , kinetics , polymer , biopolymer , statistical mechanics , kinetic energy , statistical physics , chemistry , physics , classical mechanics , electrical engineering , engineering , organic chemistry
We discuss some recent ideas relating to the folding and other conformational transitions of polymers. In particular we emphasize that it is possible to conceive the accompanying kinetic processes as a problem in non‐equilibrium statistical mechanics. In this sense it should be possible to develop such methods to deduce the kinetic laws in the vicinity of various conformational transitions. To establish the ideas we first study the well known problem of the collapse transition of a homopolymer. We then turn to conformational transitions in periodic and random copolymers. We offer a brief survey of the status of these ideas in applications to biopolymeric conformational kinetics.