Lattice model for cold and warm swelling of polymers in water
Statistical Mechanics
2009-10-31 v1 Soft Condensed Matter
Abstract
We define a lattice model for the interaction of a polymer with water. We solve the model in a suitable approximation. In the case of a non-polar homopolymer, for reasonable values of the parameters, the polymer is found in a non-compact conformation at low temperature; as the temperature grows, there is a sharp transition towards a compact state, then, at higher temperatures, the polymer swells again. This behaviour closely reminds that of proteins, that are unfolded at both low and high temperatures.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/9912085,
title = {Lattice model for cold and warm swelling of polymers in water},
author = {Pierpaolo Bruscolini and Lapo Casetti},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/9912085},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
REVTeX, 5 pages, 2 EPS figures