Some topics in the kinetics of protein aggregation

Abstract

Preliminary results are presented for the kinetics of phase separation in three distinct models of protein aggregation. The first is a model of the formation of spherical microcrystals of insulin via an initial formation of fractal clusters of insulin. The results of our Brownian dynamics study of this model are in qualitative agreement with a recent experimental study [1] of microcrystal formation from aqueous mixtures of insulin. A second work involves a theory for the formation of metastable bundles of sickle hemoglobin from fibers, based on a recent generic theory of bundle formation [2]. We also discuss a model for the microscopic formation of these fibers. Finally, we discuss preliminary results for the kinetics of cluster formation for a six patch model of protein crystallization.