Levinthal's paradox

Levinthal's paradox is a thought experiment in the field of computational protein structure prediction; protein folding seeks a stable energy configuration. An algorithmic search through all possible conformations to identify the minimum energy configuration (the native state) would take an immense duration; however in reality protein folding happens very quickly, even in the case of the most complex structures, suggesting that the transitions are somehow guided into a stable state through an uneven energy landscape.^[1]

^ Nelson, David L.; Cox, Michael M.; Lehninger, Albert L. (2017). "Polypeptides Fold Rapidly by a Stepwise Process". Lehninger principles of biochemistry (7th ed.). New York, NY : Houndmills, Basingstoke: W.H. Freeman and Company ; Macmillan Higher Education. ISBN 978-1-4641-2611-6. OCLC 986827885.

[1] Nelson, David L.; Cox, Michael M.; Lehninger, Albert L. (2017). "Polypeptides Fold Rapidly by a Stepwise Process". Lehninger principles of biochemistry (7th ed.). New York, NY : Houndmills, Basingstoke: W.H. Freeman and Company ; Macmillan Higher Education. ISBN 978-1-4641-2611-6. OCLC 986827885.

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