Minimalist Model of a Protein

Dmitry Kondrashov

Department of Mathematics
University of Arizona

I will present the results of a computer simulation of a small homopolymer.
The goal of this work was to attempt to reproduce some of the qualitative
behavior of proteins in response to changes in temperature, pressure, and
other parameters. This model succeeds in this regard, notably in exhibiting
pressure-induced unfolding, long a subject of controversy among protein
theoreticians. Both equilibrium and nonequilibrium behavior will be addressed.
This work was done under the supervision of Angel Garcia at LANL.