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Science 18 February 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5712, p. 1067
DOI: 10.1126/science.1106243
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Brevia

Entropically Driven Helix Formation

Yehuda Snir and Randall D. Kamien*

The helix is a ubiquitous motif for biopolymers. We propose a heuristic, entropically based model that predicts helix formation in a system of hard spheres and semiflexible tubes. We find that the entropy of the spheres is maximized when short stretches of the tube form a helix with a geometry close to that found in natural helices. Our model could be directly tested with wormlike micelles as the tubes, and the effect could be used to self-assemble supramolecular helices.

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kamien{at}physics.upenn.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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The depletion attraction: an underappreciated force driving cellular organization.
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J. Cell Biol. 175, 681-686
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Helices.
N. Chouaieb, A. Goriely, and J. H. Maddocks (2006)
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Entropy-Driven Genome Organization.
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Translational-Entropy Gain of Solvent upon Protein Folding.
Y. Harano and M. Kinoshita (2005)
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)