Related papers: Stretching Homopolymers
We analyse the dynamics of polymer translocation in the strong force regime by recasting the problem into solving a differential equation with a moving absorbing boundary. For the total translocation time, $\tau_{\rm tr}$, our simple…
The ability to tune the microstructures formed by block copolymers using accessible physical approaches provides control for practical material applications. A common strategy involves the addition of homopolymers, which can induce…
In this paper we compare two polymer stretching experiments. The outcome of both experiments is a force-extension relation. We use a one-dimensional model to show that in general the two quantities are not equal. In certain limits, however,…
The interaction of polymers with small-scale velocity gradients can trigger a coil-stretch transition in the polymers. We analyze this transition within a direct numerical simulation of shear turbulence with an Oldroyd-B model for the…
We study the elastic properties of a single A/B copolymer chain with a specific sequence. We predict a rich structure in the force extension relations which can be addressed to the sequence. The variational method is introduced to probe…
We present molecular dynamics friction calculations for confined hydrocarbon solids with molecular lengths from 20 to 1400 carbon atoms. Two cases are considered: (a) polymer sliding against a hard substrate, and (b) polymer sliding on…
We study the force-induced unfolding of random disordered RNA or single-stranded DNA polymers. The system undergoes a second order phase transition from a collapsed globular phase at low forces to an extensive necklace phase with a…
Topological constraints (TCs) between polymers determine the behaviour of complex fluids such as creams, oils and plastics. Most of the polymer solutions used every day life employ linear chains; their behaviour is accurately captured by…
We present a theory for the elasticity of cross-linked stiff polymer networks. Stiff polymers, unlike their flexible counterparts, are highly anisotropic elastic objects. Similar to mechanical beams stiff polymers easily deform in bending,…
We use Newtonian and overdamped Langevin dynamics to study long flexible polymers dragged by an external force at a constant velocity $v$. The work $W$ by that force depends on the initial state of the polymer and the details of the…
We present the exact solutions of various directed walk models of polymers confined to a slit and interacting with the walls of the slit via an attractive potential. We consider three geometric constraints on the ends of the polymer and…
We investigate stall force and polymerization kinetics of rigid protofilaments in a microtubule or interacting filaments in bundles under an external load force in the framework of a discrete growth model. We introduce the concecpt of…
While the characteristics of the driven translocation for asymptotically long polymers are well understood, this is not the case for finite-sized polymers, which are relevant for real-world experiments and simulation studies. Most notably,…
Conformational transitions of flexible molecules, especially those driven by hydrophobic effects, tend to be hindered by desolvation barriers. For such transitions, it is thus important to characterize and understand the interplay between…
Polymers at the interface exhibit frustrated chain conformation distinct from the bulk, impacting particle dispersion and properties of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). Utilizing bimodal molecular weight (MW) PNCs, we observed unusual chain…
We consider an abstract second order linear equation with a strong dissipation, namely a friction term which depends on a power of the "elastic" operator. In the homogeneous case, we investigate the phase spaces in which the initial value…
The transport coefficients of dense polymeric fluids are approximately calculated from the microscopic intermolecular forces. The following finite molecular weight effects are discussed within the Polymer-Mode-Coupling theory (PMC) and…
We develop a theory of static friction by modeling the homogeneous surfaces of contact as being composed of a regular array of compressible elastic smooth microscopic inclines. Static friction is thought of as the resistance due to having…
Simulations are used to examine the microscopic origins of strain hardening in polymer glasses. While traditional entropic network models can be fit to the total stress, their underlying assumptions are inconsistent with simulation results.…
Inspired by recent experiments on chromosomal dynamics, we introduce an exactly solvable model for the interaction between a flexible polymer and a set of motor-like enzymes. The enzymes can bind and unbind to specific sites of the polymer…