Publisher's Synopsis
Elucidation of protein folding mechanisms is a fundamental problem of molecular biological physics. During the last several years, remarkable advances have been made in this field. Experimentally, folding intermediates have been characterized in detail using various new techniques, and certain small proteins are found to fold in a two-state manner. Theoretical studies of simple model proteins have put forward new ideas of folding, and recent progress in computational techniques has made unfolding/folding simulations very realistic. These advances have allowed us to describe the protein folding in a precise manner, but our questions of how a protein folds into its specific native structure have become more hotly debated. "Old views" are often being challenged by "new views." We have reached a very exciting stage of the protein folding studies, and combination of the experimental and theoretical studies is indispensable for further clarification of the folding problem. This book thus describes the recent advances in the following topics: kinetic folding mechanisms, characterization of folding intermediates, fast folding reactions, structural stability of proteins, theory of protein folding, computer simulations, and molecular evolution in relation to protein folding. This book will appeal to researchers and graduate students of biophysics, biochemistry and molecular biology.
