In an attempt to gain insights that might eventually lead to the developmen
t of new ways to avoid or minimize losses due to protein aggregation, we ha
ve performed dynamic Monte Carlo simulations on very simple lattice models
of systems containing both isolated and multiple protein chains. Protein fo
lding pathways, intermediate populations, refolding yields and aggregation
were monitored as a function of both denaturant and protein concentrations.
We find that there exists optimum levels of denaturant and protein concent
ration at which the refolding yield is highest, in agreement with some expe
rimental observations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.