Computational Biochemistry And Biophysics

ISBN: 0-8247-0455-X This book is printed on acid-free paper. Headquarters Marcel Dekker, Inc. 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 tel: 212-696-9000; fax: 212-685-4540 Eastern Hemisphere Distribution Marcel Dekker AG Hutgasse 4, Postfach 812, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland tel: 41-61-261-8482; fax: 41-61-261-8896 World Wide Web http://www.dekker.com The publisher offers discounts on this book when ordered in bulk quantities. For more information, write to Special Sales/Professional Marketing at the headquarters address above. Copyright  2001 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Current printing (last digit): 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Foreword The long-range goal of molecular approaches to biology is to describe living systems in terms of chemistry and physics. Over the last 70 years great progress has been made in applying the quantum mechanical equations representing the underlying physical laws to chemical problems involving the structures and reactions of small molecules. This work was recognized in the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Walter Kohn and John Pople in 1998. Computational studies of mesoscopic systems of biological interest have been attempted only more recently. Classical mechanics is adequate for descri