MASTER EQUATION APPROACH TO PROTEIN-FOLDING AND KINETIC TRAPS

The master equation for 12-monomer lattice heteropolymers is solved nu merically and the time evolution of the occupancy of the native state is determined. At low temperatures, the median folding time follows th e Arrhenius law and is governed by the longest relaxation time. For go od folders significant kinetic traps appear in the folding funnel, whe reas for bad folders the traps also occur in non-native energy valleys .