Schematic Models of Molecular Self-Organization

Published

January 1, 2005

Author(s)

K VanWorkum, Jack F. Douglas, Wolfgang Losert

Abstract

Molecular self-organization is central to the formation of numerous biological structures and the emulation of this process through the creation of synthetic counterparts offers great promise for nanofabrication. Our approach to understanding the principles governing this process is inspired by existing models and measurements on the self-organization of actin, tubulin and the ubiquitous icosahedral structures of viral capsids. We introduce a family of simple potentials that give rise to the self-organization of chain-like, random surface ( membrane ), tubular ( nanotube ) and hollow icosahedral structures that are similar in many respects to their biological counterparts.

Citation

Macromolecular Symposia

Volume

227

Pub Type

Journals

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Local Download

Keywords

dipole moments, nanotube, polymerization transition, random surface, self-organization, Viral Capsid Organization

Citation

VanWorkum, K. , Douglas, J. and Losert, W. (2005), Schematic Models of Molecular Self-Organization, Macromolecular Symposia, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=852483 (Accessed April 25, 2024)