The prediction of the conformation of proteins has developed from an intellectual exercise into a serious practical endeavor that has great promise to yield new stable enzymes, products of pharmacological significance, and catalysts of great potential. With the application of predic tion gaining momentum in various fields, such as enzymology and immunology, it was deemed time that a volume be published to make available a thorough evaluation of present methods, for researchers in this field to expound fully the virtues of various algorithms, to open the field to a wider audience, and to offer the scientific public an opportunity to examine carefully its successes and failures. In this manner the practitioners of the art could better evaluate the tools and the output so that their expectations and applications could be more realistic. The editor has assembled chapters by many of the main contributors to this area and simultaneously placed their programs at three national resources so that they are readily available to those who wish to apply them to their personal interests. These algorithms, written by their originators, when utilized on pes or larger computers, can instantaneously take a primary amino acid sequence and produce a two-or three-dimensional artistic image that gives satisfaction to one's esthetic sensibilities and food for thought concerning the structure and function of proteins. It is in this spirit that this volume was envisaged.

The Amphipathic Helix is a comprehensive volume discussing amphipathic helices in systems as diverse as serum lipoproteins, lung surfactant, cytotoxic peptides, ion channels, mitochondrial targeting, peptide hormones, G proteins, T-cell recognition, DNA binding proteins, and antifreeze proteins. The book also includes general introductory material that defines amphipathic helices, discusses methods to identify amphipathic helical segments from the amino acid sequence of a protein, illustrates how amphipathic helices can be used in the de novo design of peptide and protein structures, and describes how these helices stabilize protein structures. There is also a section on techniques to determine helix orientation in a membrane environment using polarized attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy or solid state NMR spectroscopy. Recent developments on all these topics have been discussed by leading experts in this reference for researchers and students in biochemistry, biophysics, and pharmacology.

This is the first ever text on the intrinsic self-assembling behaviour of peptides and the implications of these properties for a broad range of applications. These include protein conformational diseases, the engineering of nanostructured biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric materials with potential applications in tissue engineering, biomedical devices, industrial fluids and personal care products. This new area of endeavour is outlined in a series of 25 articles summarising lectures presented at the first ever meeting on this topic held in Crete in July 1999. Audience: The articles address generic issues making the text readily amenable to postgraduate students, academics, and research scientists interested in new challenges at the physical sciences - life sciences interface.

Thermodynamics of Membrane Receptors and Channels synthesizes a wealth of new information regarding the biophysics of membrane proteins. New insights provided by molecular genetics, single channel recording, and high resolution structural techniques are discussed from a conceptual perspective. Basic theoretical topics are introduced, developed, and then extensively illustrated with recent results from the literature or data from the authors' own laboratories. Theoretical and experimental information is incorporated into in-depth discussions of ion permeation mechanisms, ion channel and receptor conformational changes, aggregate activity of complexes of lipids and proteins, and how coupling is achieved between different energy modes in the many transduction systems residing in biomembranes. Thermodynamics of Membrane Receptors and Channels will be valuable both as a learning aid and a reference for biophysicists, neuroscientists, cell biologists, physiologists, and other researchers investigating any aspects of biomembranes.

The importance of protein folding has been recognized for many years. It is the underlying etiology in a large number of human diseases and it appears to be a novel method for cellular regulation of the expression of newly translated proteins. These volumes (Parts A & B) address this important topic. As a volume in Progress in Nucleic Acid Research and Molecular Biology, this book provides the latest information on the expanding research being conducted on protein folding. Follow the new editor-in-chief, P. Michael Conn, as he introduces this first thematic volume in the series – an in-depth aid to researchers who are looking for the best techniques and tools for understanding the complexities of protein folding Understand the advantages of protein folding over other therapeutic approaches and see how protein folding plays a critical role in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes Decipher the rules of protein folding through compelling and timely reviews combined with chapters written by international authors in engineering, biochemistry, physics and computer science