Related papers: Dramatic changes in DNA Conductance with stretchin…
We report a structural polymorphism of the S-DNA when a canonical B-DNA is stretched under different pulling protocols and provide a fundamental molecular understanding of the DNA stretching mechanism. Extensive all atom molecular dynamics…
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.…
Double-stranded DNA `overstretches' at a pulling force of about 65 pN, increasing in length by a factor of 1.7. The nature of the overstretched state is unknown, despite its considerable importance for DNA's biological function and…
The complex mechanisms governing charge migration in DNA oligomers reflect the rich structural and electronic properties of the molecule of life. Controlling the mechanical stability of DNA nanowires in charge transport experiments is a…
Minuscule molecular forces can transform DNA into a structure that is elongated by more than half its original length. We demonstrate that this pronounced conformational transition is of relevance to ongoing experimental and theoretical…
When pulled along the axis, double-strand DNA undergoes a large conformational change and elongates roughly twice its initial contour length at a pulling force about 70 pN. The transition to this highly overstretched form of DNA is very…
The double-helical structure of DNA results from canonical base pairing and stacking interactions. However, variations from steady-state conformations result from mechanical perturbations in cells. These different topologies have…
We studied the electrical conductivity of DNA samples as function of the number of DNA molecules. We showed that the insulating gap (no current at low voltage) increases from ~1-2 V for bundles and large ropes to ~4-7 V for few DNA…
We study a class of micromanipulation experiments, exemplified by the pulling apart of the two strands of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). When the pulling force is increased to a critical value, an ``unzipping'' transition occurs. For random…
The accurate knowledge of the elastic properties of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is key to characterize the thermodynamics of molecular reactions that are studied by force spectroscopy methods where DNA is mechanically unfolded. Examples…
DNA stretching experiments are usually interpreted using the worm-like chain model; the persistence length A appearing in the model is then interpreted as the elastic stiffness of the double helix. In fact the persistence length obtained by…
While slowly turning the ends of a single molecule of DNA at constant applied force, a discontinuity was recently observed at the supercoiling transition, when a small plectoneme is suddenly formed. This can be understood as an abrupt…
In this study, we compare the charge transport properties of multiple (double stranded) dsRNA sequences with corresponding dsDNA sequences. Recent studies have presented a contradictory picture of relative charge transport efficiencies in…
We study the effect of transcription on the kinetics of DNA supercoiling in 3D by means of Brownian dynamics simulations of a single nucleotide resolution coarse-grained model for double stranded DNA. By accounting for the action of a…
A detailed description of the conformational plasticity of double stranded DNA (ds) is a necessary framework for understanding protein-DNA interactions. Until now, however structure and kinetics of the transition from the basic conformation…
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…
A double stranded DNA molecule under the stress of a pulling force acting on the strand terminals exhibits a partially denatured structure or can be completely unzipped depending the magnitude of the pulling force. A scaling argument for…
Recent experiments indicated that disorder effect in DNA may lead to a transition of the charge transport mechanism from band resonant tunnelling to thermal activated hopping. In this letter, based on Mott's variable-range hopping theory we…
We investigate the voltage-driven transport of hybridized DNA through membrane channels. As membrane channels are typically too narrow to accommodate hybridized DNA, the dehybridization of the DNA is the critical rate limiting step in the…
Motivated by the wide ranging experimental results on the conductivity of DNA, we have investigated extraordinary configurations and chemical environments in which DNA might become a true molecular wire, perticularly from enhanced…