Customer Reviews

Entropy-Driven Processes in Biology: Polymerization of Tobacco Mosaic Virus Protein and Similar Reactions (Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Bioph)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a Ph.D. student in chemistry studying a self-assembling protein. I don't know why I didn't find this book years ago, I may have overlooked it because of the age of the text and concerns that it was too specialized, but it is exactly what I needed all along: a basic, biophysical description of the nature of self-assembly reactions that are entropically driven (as most are: tobacco mosaic virus, actin, sickle cell anemia, etc). The book is mathematical but not at the expense of conceptual content. Suitable for anyone well grounded in basic thermodynamics and physical chemistry. Tobacco mosaic virus is used as a prototype but the principles and techniques are widely applicable and four of the ten chapters discuss other proteins. With the emerging field of self-assembling nanotubes, books like this merit more attention in the future.