Folding

Folding is the process by which a molecule assumes its shape or conformation. The process can also be described as intramolecular self-assembly where the molecule is directed to form a specific shape through noncovalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, hydrophobic forces, van der Waals forces, pi-pi interactions, and/or electrostatic effects. The most active area of interest in the folding of molecules is the process of protein folding, which is the shape that is assumed by a specific sequence of amino acids in a protein. The shape of the folded protein can be used to understand its function and design drugs to influence the processes that it is involved in. There is also a great deal of interest in the construction of artificial folding molecules or foldamers. They are studied as models of biological molecules and potential application to the development of new functional materials. Foldamers have been demonstrated to display a number of interesting supramolecular properties including molecular self-assembly, molecular recognition, and host-guest chemistry. They are studied as models of biological molecules and have been shown to display antimicrobial activity.

Further information

1. Levinthal C. (1968). Are there pathways for protein folding. J. Chim. Phys. 65, 44–45.
2. Dill K.A., Ozkan S.B., Weikl T.R., Chodera J.D., Voelz V.A. (2007). The protein folding problem: when will it be solved? Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 17, 342–346.
3. Hill DJ, Mio MJ, Prince RB, Hughes TS, Moore JS (2001). "A field guide to foldamers". Chem. Rev. 101 (12): 3893–4012.
4. Zagrovic B., Snow C.D., Shirts M.R., Pande V.S. (2002). Simulation of folding of a small alpha-helical protein in atomistic detail using worldwide-distributed computing. J. Mol. Biol. 323, 927–937.
5. Статья Protein folding из Wikipedia, свободной энциклопедии. Доступно под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.
6. Статья Фолдинг белка из Wikipedia, свободной энциклопедии. Доступно под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.

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