蛋白质折叠是一个复杂的物理、化学和生物过程，涉及热力学、统计力学、高分子动力学等多个领域的相关知识，单独从宏观或微观角度出发，试图建立蛋白折叠物理模型，都面临着巨大的困难．统计热力学方法是研究蛋白质分子运动规律的重要途径，本文从溶液环境下蛋白质折叠的非共价作用出发，介绍了疏水作用、氧键、静电力和范德华力的统计热力学机理，并探讨了这些作用力对蛋白质结构稳定性的影响．通过深入理解微观结构相互作用与系统熵、焓、自由能之间关系，有助于我们发展蛋白质折叠的统计热力学理论，进而为蛋白质结构宏观热力学研究提供重要的微观%Protein folding is a complex process involving physics, chemistry and biology. Multidisciplinary ap- proaches have to be used, including thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, polymer dynamics. The attempts to develop protein folding models solely at macroscopic or microscopic scale still face huge difficulties. It is believed that statistical thermodynamics is a prior way for addressing protein folding problem. In this work, we reviewed the mechanism of important non-covalent interactions in water solution, such as hydrophobic effect, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The effects of non-covalent interactions on protein structure stability is discussed. The understanding of relationship between non-covalent interactions and entropy/enthalpy/free energy is essential for developing statistical thermodynamics theories, as well as for proposing microscopic statistical interpretations for macroscopic thermodynamics.
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