A refined method for calculating the fractal dimensions of proteins is introduced in this article. The fractal dimensions of 90 proteins covering four structural classes of proteins are established using this method. The relationship between the fractal dimension and tertiary structure of proteins is analyzed. The mean value of the fractal dimension ${\mathit{D}}_2$ for the global structure of proteins is 1.65, which is very close to the theoretical value 5/3 associated with a self-avoiding random walk in three-dimensional Euclidean space.

• Received 28 December 1989

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.41.7043