@misc{yigit_likecharged_proteinpolyelectrolyte_2015, author={Yigit, C., Heyda, J., Ballauff, M., Dzubiella, J.}, title={Like-charged protein-polyelectrolyte complexation driven by charge patches}, year={2015}, howpublished = {journal article}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4928078}, abstract = {We study the pair complexation of a single, highly charged polyelectrolyte (PE) chain (of 25 or 50 monomers) with like-charged patchy protein models (CPPMs) by means of implicit-solvent, explicit-salt Langevin dynamics computer simulations. Our previously introduced set of CPPMs embraces well-defined zero-, one-, and two-patched spherical globules each of the same net charge and (nanometer) size with mono- and multipole moments comparable to those of globular proteins with similar size. We observe large binding affinities between the CPPM and the like-charged PE in the tens of the thermal energy, kBT, that are favored by decreasing salt concentration and increasing charge of the patch(es). Our systematic analysis shows a clear correlation between the distance-resolved potentials of mean force, the number of ions released from the PE, and CPPM orientation effects. In particular, we find a novel two-site binding behavior for PEs in the case of two-patched CPPMs, where intermediate metastable complex structures are formed. In order to describe the salt-dependence of the binding affinity for mainly dipolar (one-patched) CPPMs, we introduce a combined counterion-release/Debye-Hückel model that quantitatively captures the essential physics of electrostatic complexation in our systems.}, note = {Online available at: \url{https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4928078} (DOI). Yigit, C.; Heyda, J.; Ballauff, M.; Dzubiella, J.: Like-charged protein-polyelectrolyte complexation driven by charge patches. The Journal of Chemical Physics. 2015. vol. 143, no. 6, 064905. DOI: 10.1063/1.4928078}}