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Hairpins in the conformations of a confined polymer
- Source :
- Biomicrofluidics. 12(2)
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- If a semiflexible polymer confined to a narrow channel bends around by 180 degrees, the polymer is said to exhibit a hairpin. The equilibrium extension statistics of the confined polymer are well understood when hairpins are vanishingly rare or when they are plentiful. Here we analyze the extension statistics in the intermediate situation via experiments with DNA coated by the protein RecA, which enhances the stiffness of the DNA molecule by approximately one order of magnitude. We find that the extension distribution is highly non-Gaussian, in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations of confined discrete wormlike chains. We develop a simple model that qualitatively explains the form of the extension distribution. The model shows that the tail of the distribution at short extensions is determined by conformations with one hairpin.<br />Comment: Revised version. 22 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, supplementary material
- Subjects :
- Monte Carlo method
Biomedical Engineering
FOS: Physical sciences
02 engineering and technology
Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter
01 natural sciences
Narrow channel
Colloid and Surface Chemistry
0103 physical sciences
General Materials Science
Physics - Biological Physics
010306 general physics
Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes
chemistry.chemical_classification
Physics
Quantitative Biology::Biomolecules
Molecular biophysics
Polymer
021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology
Condensed Matter Physics
chemistry
Chemical physics
Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph)
Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
0210 nano-technology
Order of magnitude
Regular Articles
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19321058
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Biomicrofluidics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d19d21673aa40213057786de4244b1da