Phonon dispersion and heat capacity in cross-beta form of poly(O-acetyl, L-serine)

Poly(O-acetyl, L-serine), which is a precursor of poly(L-serine) in synthes ic sequence, is found to exist in cross-p conformation. Normal mode analyse s including phonon dispersion have been performed, to understand completely the FTIR spectra of this polypeptide, using Wilson's GF matrix method and Urey-Bradley force held. The characteristic features of dispersion curves l ike repulsion, exchange of character and bunching have been observed and di scussed. In addition to the above the heat capacity is calculated as a func tion of temperature via density-of-states derived from dispersion curves. ( C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.