Summary

Abstract

Biological processes in any living organism are based on selective interactions between particular biomolecules. In most cases, these interactions involve and are driven by proteins and/or DNA, which are the main informational contributors in any living process within the organism. Proteins and DNA are linear macromolecules composed of sequentially linked constitutive elements, namely amino acids or nucleotides. Proteins, but DNA as well, can only express their biological function when they achieve a certain active three-dimensional (3D) structure. Their biological function, as well as their active (3D) structure, is determined primarily by the amino acid or nucleotide sequence within the macromolecule. Although both function and structure of a number of protein and DNA sequences are known [1], the crucial problem of understanding how the biological function and active 3D structure are “written” within these sequences still remains unresolved. If biological function is considered as a selective interaction of a protein and its target, then a more fundamental question arises, namely, What is the physical basis of this interaction and how is selectivity achieved? Once this understanding has been gained, it should be possible to design peptides, proteins and DNA sequences de novo, with a chosen, desired biological function, and thus to produce new and more effective drugs and other biotechnological products.