Figure 2.
Competing equilibria in the formation of a duplex between two complementary oligomers. Intramolecular interactions between recognition sites lead to folding, and intermolecular interactions between multiple oligomers lead to networks of supramolecular aggregates. The effective molarities for folding (EMf) and duplex formation (EMd), the operating concentration (c), and the association constant for formation of a H-bond between two recognition sites (K) determine the distribution of oligomers between the three different assembly channels. The equilibrium constants have additional statistical factors that are not shown.