Molecular Interactions

Book excerpt: The types of forces that are involved in the interactions between molecules vary across a wide spectrum from very strong, as in ion-ion interactions, to the much weaker forces that are involved in van der Waals complexes. This book provides an introduction to the theoretical methods that are used to analyze each sort of force and provide the reader with a guide to the most appropriate method for a given problem. Examples are used to illustrate the points, and the pitfalls that a novice might encounter are outlined. These examples range from very small complexes to much larger systems with biological relevance.