Related papers: Sequence-Dependent Effects on the Properties of Se…
The shape of a polymer plays an important role in determining its interactions with other molecules and with the environment, and is in turn affected by both of them. As a consequence, in the literature the shape properties of a chain in…
Topological constraints can affect both equilibrium and dynamic properties of polymer systems, and can play a role in the organization of chromosomes. Despite many theoretical studies, the effects of topological constraints on the…
Some important biomolecules (for instance, bacterial FtsZ and eukaryotic DNA) are known to posses spontaneous (intrinsic) curvature. Using a simple extension of the wormlike chain model, we study the response of a weakly bending filament in…
Thermally-driven semi-crystalline polymer networks are capable to achieve both the one-way shape-memory effect and two-way shape-memory effect under stress and stress-free conditions, therefore representing an appealing class of polymers…
We present a sequence-based probabilistic formalism that directly addresses co-operative effects in networks of interacting positions in proteins, providing significantly improved contact prediction, as well as accurate quantitative…
It is commonly accepted that in concentrated solutions or melts high-molecular weight polymers display random-walk conformational properties without long-range correlations between subsequent bonds. This absence of memory means, for…
The self-consistent field (SCF) theory of dense polymer liquids assumes that short-range correlations are almost independent of how monomers are connected into polymers. Some limits of this idea are explored in the context of a perturbation…
Modeling of time profiles of solar energetic particle (SEP) observations often considers transport along a large-scale magnetic field with a fixed path length from the source to the observer. Here we point out that variability in the…
We consider a general discrete model for heterogeneous semiflexible polymer chains. Both the thermal noise and the inhomogeneous character of the chain (the disorder) are modeled in terms of random rotations. We focus on the quenched…
Topological entanglements in polymers are mimicked by sliding rings (slip-links) which enforce pair contacts between monomers. We study the force-extension curve for linear polymers in which slip-links create additional loops of variable…
We investigate the effects of chain flexibility on the self-assembly behavior of symmetric diblock copolymers (BCPs) when they are confined as a thin film between two surfaces. Employing worm-like chain (WLC) self-consistent field theory,…
The conformations of semiflexible (bio)polymers are studied in flow through geometrically structured microchannels. Using mesoscale hydrodynamics simulations, we show that the polymer undergoes a rod-to-helix transition as it moves from the…
We present a statistical mechanics analysis of the finite-size elasticity of biopolymers, consisting of domains which can exhibit transitions between more than one stable state at large applied force. The constant-force (Gibbs) and…
Biopolymers are characterized by heterogeneous interactions, and usually perform their biological tasks forming contacts within domains of limited size. Combining polymer theory with a replica approach, we study the scaling properties of…
A statistical mechanical description of flexible and semi-flexible polymer chains in a poor solvent is developed in the constant force and constant distance ensembles. We predict the existence of many intermediate states at low temperatures…
Nanoscale and microscale confinement of biopolymers naturally occurs in cells and has been recently achieved in artificial structures designed for nanotechnological applications. Here, we present an extensive theoretical investigation of…
We study the dynamics and conformations of a single active semiflexible polymer whose monomers experience a propulsion force perpendicular to the local tangent, with the end beads being different from the inner beads ("end-tailored"). Using…
Advanced chain-growth computer simulation methodologies have been employed for a systematic statistical analysis of the critical behavior of a polymer adsorbing at a substrate. We use finitesize scaling techniques to investigate the…
Mesh-like structures, such as mucus gel or cytoskeleton networks, are ubiquitous in biological systems. These intricate structures are composed of cross-linked, semi-flexible bio-filaments, crucial to numerous biological processes. In many…
The structural properties of polymers adsorbed onto a surface have been widely investigated using self-consistent mean-field theories. Recently, analytical mean-field theories have been applied to study polymer adsorption on curved surfaces…