ABSTRACT
Aggregation Processes .....................................................................223 6.4 DFS-Based Biosensors and Other Applications ...........................................231 6.5 Conclusions...................................................................................................234 Acknowledgment ...................................................................................................236 References..............................................................................................................236
Interactions between biological molecules drive a large variety of cellular processes and span a wide range of strengths and complexity. Upon specific recognition mechanisms, biomolecules give rise to associations with different properties: from antigen-antibody complexes characterized by tight binding, long lifetime, and high specificity, to short-lived transient complexes involving molecules that recognize multiple partners, sometimes with a charge transfer capability (Janin, 1997; Crowley and Ubbink, 2003). The ability of biological molecules to undergo such highly controlled and hierarchical processes is regulated by forces at molecular scale based on a combination of noncovalent interactions (i.e., van der Waals, electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen (H), and ionic bonds), which determine the strength and the characteristic time of the complexes. More generally, the instructions driving molecules to
self-assemble into multicomponent structures are contained into their shape, chemical surface, and in their interaction with the environment in which the assembly takes place. Although many aspects of biorecognition have been elucidated, a full comprehension of the underlying mechanisms is far from being reached and many crucial questions are still debated; the biomolecular recognition processes having been described by progressively more refined theoretical frameworks (see Chapters 1 and 3).
