Fig. 9.

The scaling expression for the median assembly time τ_1/2 as a function of subunit concentration predicted by Eq. 18 is compared to full numerical solutions of the rate equations Eq. 14 (see section III B). The numerical results are shown for completion fraction f_c (□) and estimated light scattering (+), while the theoretical prediction Eq. 18 is shown as a dashed line. The estimate for the crossover concentration ρ_c (Eq. 19) above which the light scattering and completion fraction do not match is shown with a • symbol, and the concentration at which the monomer starvation kinetic trap increases overall assembly times ρ_kt is shown as a ■ symbol. Parameter values are g_nuc = 7k_BT (≈ 4 kcal/mol) [47], g_elong = 2g_nuc, g_n = 4g_nuc, capsid size N = 120 corresponding to 120 dimer subunits in a Hepatitis B Virus capsid [47], the critical nucleus size n_nuc = 5, and the subunit association rate constant f = 10⁵ M⁻¹s⁻¹ [126]. Based on data from Ref. [107].