Related papers: Force-induced Elastic Softening and Conformational…
Polymeric materials that couple deformation and electrostatics have the potential for use in soft sensors and actuators with potential applications ranging from robotic, biomedical, energy, aerospace and automotive technologies. In contrast…
This study focuses on comparing the individual polymer chain dynamics in an entangled polymeric liquid under different shear and extension rates. Polymer chains under various shear rates and extension rates were simulated using a…
Aiming at the mechanical properties of cross-linked biopolymers, we set up and analyze a model of two weakly bending wormlike chains subjected to a tensile force, with regularly spaced inter-chain bonds (cross-links) represented by harmonic…
A theory for sequence dependent liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) in the study of biomolecular condensates is formulated by extending the random phase approximation (RPA) and field-theoretic…
The linear viscoelastic response of single semiflexible polymer chains in the infinite-dilution limit is studied using Brownian dynamics simulations of coarse-grained bead-spring chains. The springs obey the FENE-Fraenkel force law, a…
We use three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics simulations (DDD) to study the evolution of interfacial dislocation network (IDN) in particle-strengthened alloy systems subjected to constant stress at high temperatures. We have…
The nature of electrostatic interactions involving polyanions modulate the properties of both synthetic and biological macromolecules. Although intensely studied for decades the interplay of many length scales has prevented a complete…
Single molecule force spectroscopy methods can be used to generate folding trajectories of biopolymers from arbitrary regions of the folding landscape. We illustrate the complexity of the folding kinetics and generic aspects of the collapse…
Liquid-liquid phase separation of charge/aromatic-enriched intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is critical in the biological function of membraneless organelles. Much of the physics of this recent discovery remains to be elucidated.…
Because the constant extension ensemble of single chain molecule is not always equivalent with constant force ensemble, a model of double-stranded conformations, as in RNA molecules and $\beta$-sheets in proteins, with fixed extension…
An applied tension force changes the equilibrium conformations of a polymer chain tethered to a planar substrate and thus affects the adsorption transition as well as the coil-globule and crystallization transitions. Conversely, solvent…
The elastic network (EN) is a prime model that describes the long-time dynamics of biomolecules. However, the use of harmonic potentials renders this model insufficient for studying large conformational changes of proteins (e.g. stretching…
We report extensive numerical simulations of different models of 2D polymer rings with internal elasticity. We monitor the dynamical behavior of the rings as a function of the packing fraction, to address the effects of particle deformation…
A robust non-Newtonian fluid model of dilute polyelectrolyte solutions is derived from kinetic theory arguments. Polyelectrolyte molecules are modeled as finitely elongated nonlinear elastic dumbbells, where effective charges (interacting…
The influence of structural constraints on the relaxation dynamics of three polyurea networks with varying degree of crosslinking, has been studied by means of a thorough analysis of broadband dielectric spectroscopy measurements. Two…
A statistical mechanical description of flexible and semi-flexible polymer chains in a poor solvent is developed in the constant force and constant distance ensembles. We predict the existence of many intermediate states at low temperatures…
Planar brushes of flexible, semiflexible and rodlike diblock polyampholytes are studied using molecular dynamics simulations and scaling analysis in a wide range of the grafting density. Simulations show linear dependence of the average…
Convergent extension of epithelial tissue is a key motif of animal morphogenesis. On a coarse scale, cell motion resembles laminar fluid flow; yet in contrast to a fluid, epithelial cells adhere to each other and maintain the tissue layer…
Electrically conducting polymers with mechanical adaptability are essential for flexible electronics, yet most suffer structural degradation under rapid deformation. In this study, multiscale coarse-grained (MSCG) simulations are used to…
Biomolecular condensates undergirded by phase separations of proteins and nucleic acids serve crucial biological functions. To gain physical insights into their genetic basis, we study how liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of…