Bohidar H.B. Fundamentals of Polymer Physics and Molecular Biophysics

Cambridge University Press, 2015. — 350 p. — ISBN: 9781107058705.Macromolecules in solutions can be distinctly characterised by their transport behaviour in solution phase. The study of the transport processes includes diffusion coefficient, sedimentation coefficient, intrinsic viscosity and friction constant. The question arises as to how to explicitly characterise the macromolecules from the data of coefficients. This book answers this question in a systematic manner. It provides physical interpretation of the data obtained in macromolecular transport phenomena in a given system and also addresses some important issues and concepts related to biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids. The application of concepts like conformational properties and salient physicochemical features of protein and nucleic acids is also elucidated in the book. Based on the molecular structure, it provides the essential concepts which can be used to model and analyze the static and transport behaviour of polymers and biopolymers.Discusses the fundamentals of polymer physics and molecular biophysics in one volume
Provides graded content from elementary thermodynamics and probability theory to elaborate static properties of polymers
Examines structure and properties of proteins and nucleic acidsEssential thermodynamic and statistical concepts
Polymer structure and nomenclature
Polymer solutions
Phase stability and phase transitions
Static properties of single chains
Diffusion
Viscosity of polymer solutions
Sedimentation
Concentration regimes and scaling
Internal dynamics
Dynamics in polymer gels
Molecular biophysics
Structure of biopolymers
Physics of proteins
Physics of nucleic acids
Special topics