ENTROPY IN BIOLOGICAL BINDING PROCESSES - ESTIMATION OF TRANSLATIONALENTROPY LOSS

The loss of translational degrees of freedom makes an important, unfav orable contribution to the free energy of binding. Examination of expe rimental values suggest that calculation of this entropy using the Sac kur-Tetrode equation produces largely overestimated values. Better agr eement is obtained using the cratic entropy. Theoretical consideration s suggest that the volumes available for the movement of a ligand in s olution and in a complex are rather similar, suggesting also that the cratic entropy provides the best estimate of the loss of translational entropy. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.