EPO

systems promoted by peptide and

protein association. Shown on the right

is EPO the, small peptide that mimics the

action of Erythropoietin. This system is a

model of protein self-assembly and can

be used as investigate crowding and concentration effects. An

unknown factor in all these calculations is whether the empirical

force fields used are appropriate in cases where folding or protein

-protein interaction is associated with the burial of polar surfaces

originally exposed to solvent. The force fields used in these

calculations assume a fixed charge distribution normally tuned to an

aqueous environment. One means to correct for these effects is to

incorporate atomic polarizability.