Related papers: DNA as a one-dimensional chiral material: Applicat…
We analyze the dynamics of structural transitions between normal right-handed B form and unusual left-handed Z form for a linear DNA molecule. The dynamics under the external torque in physiological buffer is modeled by a Langevin equation,…
The chiral nature of DNA plays a crucial role in cellular processes. Here we use magnetic tweezers to explore one of the signatures of this chirality, the coupling between stretch and twist deformations. We show that the extension of a…
We present a phenomenological dynamical model able to describe the stretching features of the curve of DNA length vs applied force. As concerns the chain, the model is based on the discrete wormlike chain model with elastic modifications,…
This paper aims at a comprehensive understanding on the novel elastic property of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) discovered very recently through single-molecule manipulation techniques. A general elastic model for double-stranded biopolymers…
We study the structural transition from `B' form of DNA to 'A' form of DNA using group theoretic methods. The transition is not of the order-disorder type and hence to construct a Landau kind of theory for the transition we define a higher…
The long time dynamics of the conformational transition from B-DNA to Z-DNA is shown to undergo a dynamic phase transition. We obtained the dynamic phase diagram for the stability of the front separating B and Z. The instability in this…
We show that a long DNA molecule can form a novel condensed phase of matter, the pseudoscalar liquid crystal, that consists of aperiodically ordered DNA fragments in right-handed B and left-handed Z forms. We discuss the possibility of…
A methodology for the statistical mechanical analysis of polymeric chains under tension introduced previously is extended to include torque. The response of individual bonds between monomers or of entire groups of monomers to a combination…
We introduce a coarse-grained model of DNA with bases modeled as rigid-body ellipsoids to capture their anisotropic stereochemistry. Interaction potentials are all physicochemical and generated from all-atom simulation/parameterization with…
The folding angle distribution of stretched and negatively supercoiled DNA double-helix is investigated based on a theoretical model we proposed earlier [H. Zhou et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4560 (1999)]. It is shown that pulling can…
Single molecule experiments on B-DNA stretching have revealed one or two structural transitions, when increasing the external force. They are characterized by a sudden increase of DNA contour length and a decrease of the bending rigidity.…
The two strands of a DNA molecule with a repetitive sequence can pair into many different basepairing patterns. For perfectly periodic sequences, early bulk experiments of Poerschke indicate the existence of a sliding process, permitting…
We review statistical-mechanical theories of single-molecule micromanipulation experiments on nucleic acids. First, models for describing polymer elasticity are introduced. We then review how these models are used to interpret…
We here present a variable-range hopping model to describe the chirality-induced spin selectivity along the DNA double helix. In this model, DNA is considered as a one-dimensional disordered system, where electrons are transported by chiral…
Several recent experiments suggest that sharply bent DNA has a surprisingly high bending flexibility, but the cause of this flexibility is poorly understood. Although excitation of flexible defects can explain these results, whether such…
DNA has a well-defined structural transition -- the denaturation of its double-stranded form into two single strands -- that strongly affects its thermal transport properties. We show that, according to a widely implemented model for DNA…
The percentage and sequence of AT and GC base pairs and charges on the DNA backbone contribute significantly to the stiffness of DNA. This elastic property of DNA also changes with small interacting ligands. The single-molecule force…
It is a standard exercise in mechanical engineering to infer the external forces and torques on a body from its static shape and known elastic properties. Here we apply this kind of analysis to distorted double-helical DNA in complexes with…
We propose a dynamical model for the secondary structure of DNA, which is based on the finite stacking enthalpies used in thermodynamics calculations. In this model, the two strands can separate and the bases are allowed to rotate…
An 1d model with time-dependent random hopping is proposed to describe charge transport in DNA. It admits to investigate both diffusion of electrons and their tunneling between different sites in DNA. The tunneling appears to be strongly…