Structural fluctuations and thermal stability of proteins in crowded environments: effects of the excluded volume.

We perform molecular dynamics simulations for a simple coarse-grained model of a protein placed inside of a softly repulsive sphere of radius R. The protein is surrounded either by a number of same molecules or a number of spherical crowding particles that immitate other biomolecules such as the osmolytes. The two descriptions are shown to lead to distinct results when testing thermal stability as assessed by studying the unfolding times as a function of temperature.

Proteins in the electric field near the surface of mica.

We elucidate the nature of the electric field produced by a model mica surface and show that above some 0.4 nm it is nearly uniform and of order 12 V/nm. The presence of ions in the solvent above the surface, up to the concentration of about 300 mM, does not modify the nature of the field much.

Denaturation of proteins near polar surfaces.

All-atom molecular dynamics simulations for proteins placed near a model mica surface indicate existence of two types of evolution. One type leads to the surface-induced unfolding and the other just to a deformation. The two behaviors are characterized by distinct properties of the radius of gyration and of a novel distortion parameter that distinguishes between elongated, globular, and planar shapes.