EXACT ENUMERATION OF ALL CONFORMATIONS OF A HETEROPOLYMER CHAIN IN A PRESCRIBED, NONCOMPACT VOLUME

We study the protein structure problem in a prescribed, non-compact vo lume (with a hole). The choice of such a volume offers the advantage o f being closer in structure to real proteins, Using an exact enumerati on technique we investigate the thermodynamic properties of the chain' s configurations, These findings are compared to the results obtained for fully compact structures,such as the 3 x 3 x 3 cube. Interestingly we find here deviations from the random energy model. (C) 1997 Americ an Institute of Physics.