Vibrational spectra of proteins and topologically disordered solids display a common anomaly at low frequencies, known as boson peak. We show that such feature in globular proteins can be deciphered in terms of an energy landscape picture, as it is for glassy systems. Exploiting the tools of Euclidean random matrix theory, we clarify the physical origin of such anomaly in terms of a mechanical instability of the system. As a natural explanation, we argue that such instability is relevant for proteins in order for their molecular functions to be optimally rooted in their structures. © 2006 The American Physical Society.
Glasslike structure of globular proteins and the Boson Peak / Ciliberti, S.; De Los Rios, P.; Piazza, F.. - In: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS. - ISSN 1079-7114. - ELETTRONICO. - 96:(2006), pp. 198103-198103. [10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.198103]
Glasslike structure of globular proteins and the Boson Peak
Piazza, F.
2006
Abstract
Vibrational spectra of proteins and topologically disordered solids display a common anomaly at low frequencies, known as boson peak. We show that such feature in globular proteins can be deciphered in terms of an energy landscape picture, as it is for glassy systems. Exploiting the tools of Euclidean random matrix theory, we clarify the physical origin of such anomaly in terms of a mechanical instability of the system. As a natural explanation, we argue that such instability is relevant for proteins in order for their molecular functions to be optimally rooted in their structures. © 2006 The American Physical Society.I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.