Related papers: Selective colloid transport across planar polymer …
We report a simulation study for bottle-brush polymers grafted on a rigid backbone. Using a standard coarse-grained bead-spring model extensive molecular dynamics simulations for such macromolecules under good solvent conditions are…
While the dynamics of polymer chains in equilibrium media is well understood by now, the polymer dynamics in active non-equilibrium environments can be very different. Here we study the dynamics of polymers in a viscous medium containing…
We present Monte Carlo simulations of colloidal particles pulled into grafted polymer layers by external fields. The insertion free energy of a single colloid into the polymer layer is qualitatively different for surfaces with an ordered…
Polymer brushes normally swell in a good solvent and collapse in a poor solvent. An abnormal response of polymer brushes, so-called co-nonsolvency, is the phenomenon where the brush counter-intuitively collapses in a good solvent mixture.…
Ionic Coulomb blockade in nanopores is a phenomenon that shares some similarities but also differences with its electronic counterpart. Here, we investigate extensively this phenomenon using all-atom molecular dynamics of ionic transport…
The effect of curvature and how it induces and enhances the transport of colloidal particles driven through narrow channels represent an unexplored research avenue. Here we combine experiments and simulations to investigate the dynamics of…
The surface tension of interacting polymers in a good solvent is calculated theoretically and by computer simulations for a planar wall geometry and for the insertion of a single colloidal hard-sphere. This is achieved for the planar wall…
Production and processing of colloidal particles require a deeper understanding of surface charge of particles and interaction of mass and charge transport in packed beds. The assessment of fundamental parameters is rather complex due to…
Selective targeting of membranes with a specific receptor profile is an ongoing challenge in targeted drug delivery. We investigate the adsorption of copolymers on a multicomponent receptor-covered surface using grand-canonical Monte Carlo…
Thermoresponsive polymer architectures have become integral building blocks of 'smart' functional materials in modern applications. For a large range of developments, e.g., for drug delivery or nanocatalytic carrier systems, the selective…
Colloidal building blocks with re-configurable shapes and dynamic interactions can exhibit unusual self-assembly behaviors and pathways. In this work, we consider the phase behavior of colloids coated with surface-mobile polymer brushes…
We consider a polymer brush grafted to a surface (acting as an electrode) and bearing a charged group at its free end. Using a second distant electrode, the brush is subject to a constant electric field. Based on a coarse-grained continuum…
Via computer simulations, we demonstrate how a densely grafted layer of polymers, a {\it brush}, could be turned into an efficient switch through chemical modification of some of its end-monomers. In this way, a surface coating with…
The coil-globule transition of hetero-polymer chains is studied here. By means of extensive Molecular Dynamics simulations, we show that the transition is directly linked to the complexity of the chain, which depends on the number of…
The transport of deformable particles through porous media underlies a wealth of applications ranging from filtration to oil recovery to the transport and spreading of biological agents. Using direct numerical simulations, we analyze the…
Complex fluids containing low concentrations of slender colloidal rods can display a high viscosity, while little flow is needed to thin the fluid. This feature makes slender rods essential constituents in industrial applications and…
Inwardly curved polymer brushes are present in cylindrical and spherical micelles or in membranes tubes and vesicles decorated with anchored polymers, and influence their stability. We consider such polymer brushes in good solvent and show…
Multivalency is a common biological mechanism of formation of strong reversible and selective bonds by grouping weak bonds. Polymers often act as a scaffold to which multiple binding groups are attached. Here I present an analytical theory…
Controlled transport of surface functionalized magnetic beads in a liquid medium is a central requirement for the handling of captured biomolecular targets in microfluidic lab-on-chip biosensors. Here, the influence of the physiological…
The behavior of polyampholytes near a charged planar surface is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The investigated polyampholytes are overall electrically neutral and made up of oppositely charged units (called blocks) that are…