BROWNIAN DYNAMICS MODEL OF DEFORMABLE PARTICLE ADSORPTION

We present a new multi-subunit continuum model suitable for Brownian dynamics simulation of deformable particle adsorption at a plane surface. Depending on the value of the attractive energy parameter E in the subunit-subunit interaction potential, the average simulated particle structure ranges from stringy (E much less than kT) to compact (E much greater than kT) with a transition region in between. This behaviour is analogous to that exhibited by three-dimensional lattice animals. Numerical results are presented comparing the equilibrium adsorbed state structure of a 30-subunit fractal-type deformable particle (E = 0) with that of a globular deformable particle (E = 2.5 kT) and the equivalent linear flexible chain. Variants of this deformable particle model may provide a basis for simulating the adsorption of globular proteins.