Related papers: Overtwisting induces polygonal shapes in bent DNA
We construct a theoretical model for the dynamics of a microscale colloidal particle, modeled as an interval, moving horizontally on a DNA-coated surface, modelled as a line coated with springs that can stick to the interval. Averaging over…
RNA folding is a kinetic process governed by the competition of a large number of structures stabilized by the transient formation of base pairs that may induce complex folding pathways and the formation of misfolded structures. Despite of…
Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene exhibits a panoply of many-body phenomena that are intimately tied to the appearance of narrow and well-isolated electronic bands. The microscopic ingredients that are responsible for the complex…
Polymer composites are ideal candidates for next generation biomimetic soft materials because of their exquisite bottom-up designability. However, the richness of behaviours comes at a price: the need for precise and extensive…
DNA supercoiling, the under or overwinding of DNA, is a key physical mechanism both participating to compaction of bacterial genomes and making genomic sequences adopt various structural forms. DNA supercoiling may lead to the formation of…
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-spools, structures in which DNA is wrapped and helically coiled onto itself or onto a protein core are ubiquitous in nature. We develop a general theory describing the non-equilibrium behavior of DNA-spools under linear tension. Two…
We study three-dimensional deformations of thin inextensible elastic rods with non-vanishing spontaneous curvature and torsion. In addition to the usual description in terms of curvature and torsion which considers only the configuration of…
This paper is motivated by the complex blister patterns sometimes seen in thin elastic films on thick, compliant substrates. These patterns are often induced by an elastic misfit which compresses the film. Blistering permits the film to…
The statistical mechanics of DNA denaturation under fixed linking number is qualitatively different from that of the unconstrained DNA. Quantitatively different melting scenarios are reached from two alternative assumptions, namely, that…
This paper details a series of experiments in searching for minimal energy configurations for knots and links using the computer program KnotPlot. The most interesting phenomena found in these experiments is the dependence of the…
The equilibrium properties and interminiband transitions for Hartree-interacting two-dimensional electron gas in a one-dimensional chain of planar quantum rings subjected to a transverse homogeneous magnetic field are examined theoretically…
A simple model of DNA based on two interacting polymers has been used to study the unzipping of a double stranded DNA subjected to a periodic force. We propose a dynamical transition, where without changing the physiological condition, it…
We use the worm-like chain model to study supercoiling of DNA under tension and torque. The model reproduces experimental data for a broad range of forces, salt concentrations and contour lengths. We find a plane of first order phase…
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 crystallization of electrons in quasi low-dimensional solids is studied in a model which retains the full three-dimensional nature of the Coulomb interactions. We show that restricting the electron motion to layers (or chains) gives…
For an understanding of DNA elasticity at high mechanical loads (F > 30 pN), its helical nature needs to be taken into account, in the form of coupling between the twist and stretch degrees of freedom. The prevailing model for DNA…
In this work, we show that by varying the experimental conditions, the driving amplitude, a dynamic force microscope allows DNA properties to be selectively imaged. The substrate on which the DNA is fixed is a silica surface grafted with…
The macroscopic curvature induced in the double helical B-DNA by regularly repeated adenine tracts (A-tracts) plays an exceptional role in structural studies of DNA because this effect presents the most well-documented example of sequence…
By equilibrating condensed DNA arrays against reservoirs of known osmotic stress and examining them with several structural probes, it has been possible to achieve a detailed thermodynamic and structural characterization of the change…