| The energy landscape theory of protein folding is based on a statistical description of a protein's complex potential energy surface. Individual folding events are sampled from an ensemble of possible routes on the landscape. The theory suggests that the landscape of a protein can be described as that of a partially random heteropolymer with a rugged, yet funnelled landscape towards the native structure. The quantitative aspects of folding are developed using tools from the statistical mechanics of disordered systems, polymers, and phase transitions of finite systems. The theory provides an interpretation of results from fast folding experiments as well as minimalist models used in computer simulations. |
