Related papers: Strongly bent double-stranded DNA: reconciling the…
Topologically constrained genome-like polymers often double-fold into tree-like configurations. Here we calculate the exact number of tightly double-folded configurations available to a ring polymer in ideal conditions. For this purpose, we…
We present a unified scaling theory for the dynamics of monomers for dilute solutions of semiflexible polymers under good solvent conditions in the free draining limit. Our theory encompasses the well-known regimes of mean square…
The strength of the spin-orbit interaction relevant to transport in a low dimensional structure depends critically on the relative geometrical arrangement of current carrying orbitals. Recent tight-binding orbital models for spin transport…
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…
We investigate the properties of a system of semi-diluted polymers in the presence of charged groups and counter-ions, by means of self-consistent field theory. We study a system of polyelectrolyte chains grafted to a similarly, as well as…
The denaturation of the double helix is a template for fundamental biological functions such as replication and transcription involving the formation of local fluctuational openings. The denaturation transition is studied for heterogeneous…
Enzymatic ligation is essential for the synthesis of long DNA. However, the number of ligated products exponentially decays as the DNA synthesis proceeds in a random manner. The controlling of ligation randomness is of importance to…
For the DNA denaturation transition in the presence of random contact energies, or equivalently the disordered wetting transition, we introduce a Strong Disorder Renewal Approach to construct the optimal contacts in each disordered sample…
We study theoretically the unzipping of a double stranded DNA from a condensed globule state by an external force. At constant force, we find that the double stranded DNA unzips an at critical force Fc and the number of unzipped monomers M…
While the behavior of double stranded DNA at mesoscopic scales is fairly well understood, less is known about its relation to the rich mechanical properties in the base-pair scale, which is crucial, for instance, to understand DNA-protein…
We perform a quantum mechanical analysis of superconducting resonators subject to dielectric loss arising from charged two-level systems. We present numerical and analytical descriptions of the dynamics of energy decay from the resonator…
The force-extension relation for a semi-flexible polymer such as DNA confined in a nanoslit is investigated and it is found that both the effective persistence length and the form of the force-extension relation change as the chain goes…
Mixtures of polymers of varying topologies and stiffnesses display complex emergent rheological properties that often cannot be predicted from their single-component counterparts. For example, entangled blends of ring and linear polymers…
The closure dynamics of a pre-equilibrated DNA denaturation bubble is studied using both Brownian dynamics simulations and an analytical approach. The numerical model consists of two semi-flexible interacting single strands (ssDNA) and a…
The dynamics of polymer translocation through a pore has been the subject of recent theoretical and experimental works. We have considered theoretical estimates and performed computer simulations to understand the mechanism of DNA uptake…
We modify and extend the recently developed statistical mechanical model for predicting the thermodynamic properties of chain molecules having noncovalent double-stranded conformations, as in RNA or ssDNA, and $\beta-$sheets in protein, by…
The mechanical properties of DNA play a critical role in many biological functions. For example, DNA packing in viruses involves confining the viral genome in a volume (the viral capsid) with dimensions that are comparable to the DNA…
From the per unit length free energy for DNA under tension, we have calculated an effective contour length dependent persistence length for short DNA. This effective persistence length results from the enhanced fluctuations in short DNA. It…
The symmetries of the DNA double helix require a new term in its linear response to stress: the coupling between twist and stretch. Recent experiments with torsionally-constrained single molecules give the first direct measurement of this…
The competition between toroidal and rod-like conformations as possible ground states for DNA condensation is studied as a function of the stiffness, the length of the DNA and the form of the long-range interactions between neighboring…