Empirical predictions of an intrinsically disordered protein theory approach to glycan/lectin reaction kinetics

Newly-developed methods from the theory of intrinsically disordered proteins can be applied to the flexible glycan structures that coat cellular surfaces and provide rich channels for biological information transmission. Extension of a mechanistic ‘arm-in-sleeve’ model via a nonrigid molecule symmetry analysis leads to expectation of empirical observation of punctuated ‘spectral’ classifications in glycan/lectin interaction parameterized by an appropriate index of glycan frond length or other index of topological complexity, possibly requiring groupoid classifications analogous to quasicrystals.