Related papers: Conformational properties of complex polymers: ros…
Conformational transitions are ubiquitous in biomolecular systems, have significant functional roles and are subject to evolutionary pressures. Here we provide a first theoretical framework for topological transition, i.e. conformational…
In this paper, we employ Molecular Dynamics computer simulations to study and compare the statics and dynamics of linear and circular (ring) polymer chains in entangled solutions of different densities. While we confirm that linear chain…
The conformational statistics of ring polymers in melts or dense solutions is strongly affected by their quenched microscopic topological state. The effect is particularly strong for untangled (i.e. non-concatenated and unknotted) rings,…
We analyze the universal size characteristics of flexible ring polymers in solutions in presence of structural obstacles (impurities) in d dimensions. One encounters such situations when considering polymers in gels, colloidal solutions,…
Macromolecular crowding can influence polymer shapes, which is important for understanding the thermodynamic stability of polymer solutions and the structure and function of biopolymers (proteins, RNA, DNA) under confinement. We explore the…
Understanding how topological constraints affect the dynamics of polymers in solution is at the basis of any polymer theory and it is particularly needed for melts of rings. These polymers fold as crumpled and space-filling objects and,…
The dynamics of star polymers has been investigated via extensive Molecular- and Brownian Dynamics simulations for a large range of functionality $f$ and packing fraction $\eta$. The calculated isodiffusivity curves display both minima and…
This work explores the morphology and dynamical properties of cores within rich superclusters, highlighting their role as transitional structures in the large-scale structure of the Universe. Using projected and radial velocity…
We demonstrate that nascent polymer crystals (i.e., nuclei) are anisotropic entities, with neither spherical nor cylindrical geometry, in contrast to previous assumptions. In fact, cylindrical, spherical, and other high symmetry geometries…
Over the past two decades polymer nanocomposites have received tremendous interest from industry and academia due to their advanced properties comparative to polymer blends. Many computational studies have revealed that the macroscopic…
Polymer-coated pores play a crucial role in nucleo-cytoplasmic transport and in a number of biomimetic and nanotechnological applications. Here we present Monte Carlo and Density Functional Theory approaches to identify different collective…
The effect of different Monte Carlo move sets on the the folding kinetics of lattice polymer chains is studied from the geometry of the conformation-network. The networks have the characteristics of small- world. The Monte Carlo move, rigid…
We consider the model of complex hyperbranched polymer structures formed on the basis of scale-free graphs, where functionalities (degrees) $k$ of nodes obey a power law decaying probability $p(k)\sim{k^{-\alpha}}$. Such polymer topologies…
Cohesive particles form agglomerates that are usually very porous. Their geometry, particularly their fractal dimension, depends on the agglomeration process (diffusion-limited or ballistic growth by adding single particles or…
It has been shown that under high cylindrical confinement, two ring polymers with excluded volume interactions between monomers, segregate to two halves of the cylinder to maximize their entropy. In contrast, two ring polymers remain mixed…
While the structure of chromatin has been studied in great detail on length scales below 30 nm, amazingly little is known about the higher-order folding motifs of chromatin in interphase. Recent experiments give evidence that the folding…
PEP-PEO block copolymer micelles offer the possibility to investigate phase behaviour and interactions of star polymers (ultra-soft colloids). A star-like architecture is achieved by an extremely asymmetric block ratio (1:20). Micellar…
We study the motion of dispersed nanoprobes in entangled active-passive polymer mixtures. By comparing the two architectures of linear vs. unconcatenated and unknotted circular polymers, we demonstrate that novel, rich physics emerge. For…
Although both RNA and proteins have densely packed native structures, chain organizations of these two biopolymers are fundamentally different. Motivated by the recent discoveries in chromatin folding that interphase chromosomes have…
Unconcatenated, unknotted polymer rings in the melt are subject to strong interactions with neighboring chains due to the presence of topological constraints. We study this by computer simulation using the bond-fluctuation algorithm for…