Modeling the Kinetics of Open Self-Assembly.

Area of Science:

• Theoretical physics
• Biophysics
• Chemical kinetics

Background:

• Molecular self-assembly is crucial for biological structures, including viral capsids.
• Understanding the kinetics of self-assembly under different conditions is essential for biological and synthetic applications.
• Enveloped viruses exhibit complex self-assembly dynamics that are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically explore the kinetics of open molecular self-assembly with constant monomer flux and maximal size.
• To model and understand the dynamics relevant to enveloped virus self-assembly.
• To compare the kinetics of open versus closed self-assembly systems.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling of molecular self-assembly kinetics.
• Simulation of open self-assembly with continuous monomer input.
• Analysis of assembly dynamics, including convergence to stationary states and cluster formation.

Main Results:

• Open self-assembly kinetics differ quantitatively from closed self-assembly.
• Convergence to a stationary state occurs via assembly waves.
• Continuous monomer flux enhances the efficiency of complete cluster production compared to initial monomer supply.

Conclusions:

• Open self-assembly systems exhibit unique kinetic behaviors, including assembly waves.
• Constant monomer flux is a more efficient strategy for producing complete self-assembled structures, relevant to viral assembly.
• The theoretical model provides insights into the dynamics of enveloped virus formation.