Studies of reversible capsid shell growth.

Results from molecular dynamics simulations of simple, structured particles capable of self-assembling into polyhedral shells are described. The analysis focuses on the growth histories of individual shells in the presence of an explicit solvent and the nature of the events along their growth pathways; the results provide further evidence of the importance of reversibility in the assembly process. The underlying goal of this approach is the modeling of virus capsid growth, a phenomenon at the submicroscopic scale that, despite its importance, is little understood.