Related papers: Melting behavior and different bound states in thr…
We present an extensive theoretical investigation of the mechanical unzipping of double-stranded DNA under the influence of an applied force. In the limit of long polymers, there is a thermodynamic unzipping transition at a critical force…
Single molecule studies, at constant force, of the separation of double-stranded DNA into two separated single strands may provide information relevant to the dynamics of DNA replication. At constant applied force, theory predicts that the…
Fluorescence microscopy reveals that the contents of many (membrane-free) nuclear "bodies" exchange rapidly with the soluble pool whilst the underlying structure persists; such observations await a satisfactory biophysical explanation. To…
Solids undergoing a transition from order to disorder experience the proliferation of topological defects. The melting process generates transient quantum states. However, their dynamical nature with femtosecond lifetime hinders exploration…
We report studies of the equilibrium and the dynamics of a general set of lattice models which capture the essence of the force-induced or mechanical DNA unzipping transition. Besides yielding the whole equilibrium phase diagram in the…
DNA nanocompartment is a typical DNA-based machine whose function is dependent of molecular collective effect. Fundamental properties of the device have been addressed via electrochemical analysis, fluorescent microscopy, and atomic force…
We introduce a new member to the class of semisuper Efimov effects, where an infinite number of bound states emerge with their binding energies obeying the universal scaling law $E_n\sim e^{-2(\pi n/\gamma)^2}$ for sufficiently high…
When the DNA double helix is subjected to external forces it can stretch elastically to elongations reaching 100% of its natural length. These distortions, imposed at the mesoscopic or macroscopic scales, have a dramatic effect on…
Using the Langevin Dynamics simulation, we have studied the effects of the shear force on the rupture of short double stranded DNA at different temperatures. We show that the rupture force increases linearly with the chain length and…
We evaluate, by means of molecular dynamics simulations employing a realistic DNA coarse-grained model, the phase behaviour and the structural and dynamic properties of tetravalent DNA nanostars, i.e. nanoconstructs completely made of DNA.…
Multistep denaturation in a short circular DNA molecule is analyzed by a mesoscopic Hamiltonian model which accounts for the helicoidal geometry. Computation of melting profiles by the path integral method suggests that stacking…
As a prototype of systems bearing a localization-delocalization transition, the strand-separation (melting) process in a double-stranded biopolymer is studied by a mapping to a quantum-mechanical problem with short-ranged potentials. Both…
DNA-functionalized particles have great potential for the design of complex self-assembled materials. The major hurdle in realizing crystal structures from DNA-functionalized particles is expected to be kinetic barriers that trap the system…
While stretching of most polymer chains leads to rather featureless force-extension diagrams, some, notably DNA, exhibit non-trivial behavior with a distinct plateau region. Here we propose a unified theory that connects force-extension…
One-dimensional thermodynamic instabilities are phase transitions not prohibited by Landau's argument, because the energy of the domain wall (DW) which separates the two phases is infinite. Whether they actually occur in a given system of…
An inhomogeneous helicoidal nearest-neighbor model with continuous degrees of freedom is shown to predict the same DNA melting properties as traditional long-range Ising models, for free DNA molecules in solution, as well as superhelically…
Cells deploy robust mechanisms to repair DNA damage, safeguarding genomic stability and cellular health, but the physical principles underlying these processes remain incompletely understood. Experiments show \emph{in vitro} that upon a DNA…
We present a precise equivalence of the Lifson-Poland-Scheraga model with wetting models. Making use of a representation of the former model in terms of random matrices, we obtain, in the limit of weak disorder, a mean--field approximation,…
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…
The problem of DNA-DNA interaction mediated by divalent counterions is studied using computer simulation. Although divalent counterions cannot condense free DNA molecules in solution, we show that if DNA configurational entropy is…