Diana Fusco, Patrick Charbonneau
Asymmetric patchy particle models have recently been shown to describe the crystallization of small globular proteins with near quantitative accuracy. Here, we investigate how asymmetry in patch geometry and bond energy impact the phase diagram and nucleation dynamics of this family of models. We find the role of the geometry asymmetry to be weak, but the energy asymmetry to markedly interfere with the crystallization thermodynamics and kinetics. These results rationalize the success and occasional failure of George and Wilson's proposal for protein crystallization conditions as well as provide physical guidance for developing more effective protein crystallization strategies.
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http://arxiv.org/abs/1301.3349
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