Drying-induced hydrophobic polymer collapse.
We have used computer simulation to study the collapse of a hydrophobic chain in water. We find that the mechanism of collapse is much like that of a first-order phase transition. The evaporation of water in the vicinity of the polymer provides the driving force for collapse, and the rate limiting step is the nucleation of a sufficiently large vapor bubble. The study is made possible through the application of transition path sampling and a coarse-grained treatment of liquid water. Relevance of our findings to understanding the folding and assembly of proteins is discussed.
ten Wolde
Pieter Rein
PR
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Chandler
David
D
D003198:Computer Simulation; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D011108:Polymers; D014867:Water