Do quantum effects hold together DNA condensates?
Quantitative Methods
2008-06-20 v1 Soft Condensed Matter
Biomolecules
Abstract
The classical electrostatic interaction between DNA molecules in water in the presence of counterions is reconsidered and we propose it is governed by a modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation. Quantum fluctuations are then studied and shown to lead to a vacuum interaction that is numerically computed for several configurations of many DNA strands and found to be strongly many-body. This Casimir vacuum interaction can be the ``glue'' holding together DNA molecules into aggregates.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0806.3130,
title = {Do quantum effects hold together DNA condensates?},
author = {Alfredo Iorio and Samik Sen and Siddhartha Sen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0806.3130},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
8 pages, 6 figures