Elastically-Driven Linker Aggregation between Two Semi-Flexible Polyelectrolytes
Soft Condensed Matter
2009-11-07 v1 Statistical Mechanics
Biological Physics
Chemical Physics
Abstract
The behavior of mobile linkers connecting two semi-flexible charged polymers, such as polyvalent counterions connecting DNA or F-actin chains, is studied theoretically. The chain bending rigidity induces an effective repulsion between linkers at large distances while the inter-chain electrostatic repulsion leads to an effective short range inter-linker attraction. We find a rounded phase transition from a dilute linker gas where the chains form large loops between linkers to a dense disordered linker fluid connecting parallel chains. The onset of chain pairing occurs within the rounded transition.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0101149,
title = {Elastically-Driven Linker Aggregation between Two Semi-Flexible Polyelectrolytes},
author = {I. Borukhov and R. F. Bruinsma and W. M. Gelbart and A. J. Liu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0101149},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
4 pages including 3 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett