Patent ID: 6403331
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: C07K,C12N,G01N,G16B

Abstract:
A computer based method for identifying amino acid sites in a target protein which affect the stability of the target protein comprising the steps of (1) inputting the three dimensional coordinates of said target protein into a computer; (2) generating a probe-accessible surface of said target protein by probing the internal and external surfaces defined by the three dimensional coordinates of said protein with an uncharged probe molecule having a radius of about 0.9 to about 2.0 Ã¥, wherein said probe-accessible surface has an external surface the interior of which contains one or more probe-accessible internal cavities; and (3) identifying the amino acids which make up the boundaries of the internal cavities, wherein said amino acids comprise a set of sites which when mutated affect the stability of the protein.