Review: Dynamics of Crowded Macromolecules/Interacting Brownian Particles

Abstract

I review theoretical treatments of diffusion in crowded (i.~e., non-dilute) solutions of globular macromolecules. The focus is on the classical statistico-mechanical literature, much of which dates to before 1990. Classes of theoretical models include continuum treatments, correlation function descriptions, generalized Langevin equation descriptions, Smoluchowski and Mori-Zwanzig descriptions, and a brief but encouraging comparison with experimental results. The primary emphasis is on measurements made with quasi-elastic light scattering spectroscopy; I also discuss outcomes from fluorescence photobleaching recovery, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, pulsed-gradient spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance, and raster image correlation spectroscopy. I close with a list of theoretical papers on the general topic.