Patent Document ID: 20090306904
Application ID: 12540540
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. An apparatus for characterizing a multi-domain protein structure, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and at least one processor, coupled to the memory, operative to: for at least one domain, calculate a hydrophobic dipole, wherein calculating the hydrophobic dipole comprises referencing a structural feature of the at least one domain, and wherein calculating the hydrophobic dipole is carried out by a component executing on a hardware processor; calculate a score representing orientation of the hydrophobic dipole of the at least one domain relative to a hydrophobic dipole of one or more other domains of the multi-domain protein structure, wherein the score indicates an effect of one or more hydrophobic amino acid residues grouping near a region of domain contact, and wherein calculating the score is carried out by a component executing on a hardware processor; use the score to characterize the multi-domain protein structure, wherein characterizing the multi-domain protein structure comprises determining a manner in which each domain assembles with each of the one or more other domains of the multi-domain protein structure, determining a bias in a domain hydrophobic dipole orientation within the multi-domain protein structure and providing a characterization for multi-domain protein folding for the multi-domain protein structure, and wherein characterizing the multi-domain protein structure is carried out by a component executing on a hardware processor; and output the score representing orientation of the hydrophobic dipole of the at least one domain relative to a hydrophobic dipole of one or more other domains of the multi-domain protein structure to at least one of a user and a display.