Monte Carlo Simulation Study on Scaling Behavior in Growth of Antibody-antigen Complexes

The scaling behavior concerning the growth of antibody-antigen complexes was studied by the method of Monte Carlo simulation. The validity of the algorithm we used is demonstrated by the excellent agreement between analytical results and those of Monte Carlo simulation under the case of equal reactivity. For both cases of equal and unequal reactivities, the scaling exponents of the size distribution, the weight-average binding degrees, and the characteristic correlation length are obtained, and then the scaling law on the sol-gel transition is checked. It is shown that the effects of unequal reactivity on the growth of antibody-antigen complexes are significant, and this can provide some useful information for the clinic analysis of immunoreactions.