Related papers: Bridging-induced Aggregation in Neutral Polymers: …
We analyze the interaction of two conducting, charged polymer chains in solution using a minimal model for their electronic degrees of freedom. We show that a crossing of the two chains in which the polymers pass within Angstroms of each…
Similarly-charged polymers in solution, known as polyelectrolytes, are known to form aggregated structures in the presence of oppositely charged counterions. Understanding the dependence of the equilibrium phases and the dynamics of the…
Macromolecular diffusion in strongly confined geometries and crowded environments is still to a large extent an open subject in soft matter physics and biology. In this paper, we employ large-scale Langevin dynamics simulations to…
Monte Carlo computer simulations are used to study the segregation behaviour of two polymers under cylindrical confinement. Using a multiple-histogram method, the conformational free energy, F, of the polymers was measured as a function of…
We elucidate the structural transitions in a helical off-lattice homopolymer induced by crowding agents, as function of the number of monomers ($N$) and volume fraction ($\phi_c$) of crowding particles. At $\phi_c = 0$, the homopolymer…
The interaction between a flexible polymer in good solvent and smaller associating solute molecules such as amphiphiles (surfactants) is considered theoretically. Attractive correlations, induced in the polymer because of the interaction,…
Hypothesis: The macroscopic properties of polymer composites are governed by the dispersion and aggregation states of filler particles within a crosslinking matrix. Although curing transforms a liquid precursor into a solid network, its…
In order to asses the effect of hydrodynamics in the assembly of active attractive spheres, we simulate a semi-dilute suspension of attractive self-propelled spherical particles in a quasi two dimensional geometry comparing the case with…
The behavior of mobile linkers connecting two semi-flexible charged polymers, such as polyvalent counterions connecting DNA or F-actin chains, is studied theoretically. The chain bending rigidity induces an effective repulsion between…
Many soft-matter and biophysical systems are composed of monomers which reversibly assemble into rod-like aggregates. The aggregates can then order into liquid-crystal phases if the density is high enough, and liquid-crystal ordering…
The collapse and swelling behavior of a generic homopolymer is studied using implicit-solvent, explicit-cosolvent Langevin dynamics computer simulations for varying interaction strengths. The systematic investigation reveals that polymer…
While the large majority of theoretical and numerical studies of the jamming transition consider athermal packings of purely repulsive spheres, real complex fluids and soft solids generically display attraction between particles. By…
In amorphous solids subject to shear or thermal excitation, so-called structural indicators have been developed that predict locations of future plasticity or particle rearrangements. An open question is whether similar tools can be used in…
Macromolecular crowding plays a principal role in a wide range of biological processes including gene expression, chromosomal compaction, and viral infection. However, the impact that crowding has on the dynamics of nucleic acids remains a…
We consider a linear polymer chain in a disordered environment modeled by percolation clusters on a square lattice. The disordered environment is meant to roughly represent molecular crowding as seen in cells. The model may be viewed as the…
Aggregation of amphiphiles through the action of hydrophobic interactions is a common feature in soft condensed matter systems and is of particular importance in the context of biophysics as it underlies both the generation of functional…
Using detailed atomistic simulations,we explore the conformational landscape of aggregates formed by biomimetic antimicrobial(AM) binary methacrylate copolymers,with hydrophobic and charged functional groups and the role of inclusion of…
Interactions between active individuals in animal collectives lead to emergent responses that remain elusive in synthetic soft matter. Here, shape-morphing polymers are used to create bio-inspired transient solids that self-assemble with…
The relationship between polymer topology and bulk rheology remains a key question in soft matter physics. Architecture-specific constraints (or threadings) are thought to control the dynamics of ring polymers in ring-linear blends, which…
Diffusive transport of small molecules within the internal structures of biological and synthetic material systems is complex because the crowded environment presents chemical and physical barriers to mobility. We explored this mobility…