Models of helix association

We can apply the model of thermoreversible gelation of functional molecules whose functionality is not a fixed number but varies depending on the temperature. 

We need the parameters z and 7 for each f, so we have introduced the suffix. The temperature-dependent parameter 7 (7) is the association constant (10.138) for helices of length f. The parameter z is related to the polymer volume fraction through (10.123), which takes the form 

24 Schematic picture of a functional molecule carrying different species of functional groups Ai, A2, (Reprinted with permission from Ref. [67].) 

The first term for A = 1 doesn t exist in the latter because there is no isolated helix. 

Minimizing the free energy(l0.140) by changing the helix distribution function leads to the most probable distribution function 

---