Modelling of peptide and protein structures

The modelling of protein structures (whether isolated, in solution, or involved in recognition processes) is reviewed, free of any mathematical apparatus, to provide an overview of the concepts as well as leading references. A general feeling for this field of work is first established by a sampling of some impressions on its difficulties and chances of success. Then, the main body of this work examines the information available (databases and parameters), presents the theoretical foundations for the modelling procedures (with emphasis on the potential energy functions), surveys the existing simulation techniques and prediction methods, and discusses the problems still to be faced. For completeness, a representative list of existing software packages is presented in the Appendix.