Self-organized criticality of protein folding simulations using AMBER parameters

Self-organized criticality is a framework that can be used to describe many natural processes, ranging from avalanches to forest fires. These processes exhibit power-law characteristics and scale invariance. Self-organized critical systems have yet to be applied to protein folding and its identification as such may be useful to understanding protein behavior. A dynamical simulation was constructed using AMBER energy parameters and evidence of self-organized criticality was investigated. Furthermore, the features of self-organized criticality were used to explore the development of protein structures within the simulation.