Thermodynamic fluctuations in protein molecules.

Abstract

Apparently conflicting views of the physical nature of globular proteins, and other marcomolecules, may be reconciled by consideration of the inevitable thermodynamic fluctuations inherent in microscopic systems. Discrete protein molecules, considered singly, undergo sizeable fluctuations in thermodynamic properties which are manifest in their stochastic properties. This is not incompatible with time-averaged studies of ensembles of proteins from which a more compact, rigid and static view of these molecules may be obtained.