Related papers: Adhesion Induced DNA Naturation
We investigate the voltage-driven transport of hybridized DNA through membrane channels. As membrane channels are typically too narrow to accommodate hybridized DNA, the dehybridization of the DNA is the critical rate limiting step in the…
We study a model for the denaturation transition of DNA in which the molecules are considered as composed of a sequence of alternating bound segments and denaturated loops. We take into account the excluded-volume interactions between…
We propose a dynamical model for the secondary structure of DNA, which is based on the finite stacking enthalpies used in thermodynamics calculations. In this model, the two strands can separate and the bases are allowed to rotate…
Based on the result of an unzipping phase transition by a force in a model of DNA, we hypothesize that the DnaA-type proteins act as a pulling agent with a force slightly less than the critical force for unzipping. The dynamic (space-time)…
This paper aims at a comprehensive understanding on the novel elastic property of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) discovered very recently through single-molecule manipulation techniques. A general elastic model for double-stranded biopolymers…
While the thermodynamics of DNA hybridization is well understood, much less is known about the kinetics of this classic system. Filling this gap in our understanding has new urgency because DNA nanotechnology often depends critically on…
The electrodynamic response of DNA in the millimeter wave range is investigated. By performing measurements under a wide range of humidity conditions and comparing the response of single strand DNA and double strand DNA, we show that the…
We study pairs of interacting self-avoiding walks on the 3d simple cubic lattice. They have a common origin and are allowed to overlap only at the same monomer position along the chain. The latter overlaps are indeed favored by an energetic…
Based on modern single molecule techniques, we devise a number of possible experimental setups to probe local properties of DNA such as the presence of DNA-knots, loops or folds, or to obtain information on the DNA-sequence. Similarly, DNA…
Single molecule force spectroscopy of DNA strands adsorbed at surfaces is a powerful technique used in air or liquid environments to quantify their mechanical properties. Although the force responses are limited to unfolding events so far,…
The Poland-Scheraga model for DNA denaturation, besides playing a central role in applications, has been widely studied in the physical and mathematical literature over the past decades. More recently a natural generalization has been…
The behavior of long DNA molecules in a cell-sized confined space was investigated. We prepared water-in-oil droplets covered by phospholipids, which mimic the inner space of a cell, following the encapsulation of DNA molecules with…
When pulled along its axis, double-stranded DNA elongates abruptly at a force of about 65 pN. Two physical pictures have been developed to describe this overstretched state. The first proposes that strong forces induce a phase transition to…
To characterize the thermodynamical equilibrium of DNA chains interacting with a solution of non-specific binding proteins, a Flory-Huggins free energy model was implemented. We explored the dependence on DNA and protein concentrations of…
The Histone-like Nucleoid Structuring protein (H-NS) is a nucleoid-associated protein, which is involved in both gene regulation and DNA compaction. H-NS can bind to DNA in two different ways: in trans, by binding to two separate DNA…
Self-assembly is traditionally described as the process through which an initially disordered system relaxes towards an equilibrium ordered phase only driven by local interactions between its building blocks. However, This definition is too…
We develop a simple model to study the effects of an applied force on the melting of a double stranded DNA (dsDNA). Using this model, we could study the stretching, unzipping, rupture and slippage like transition in a dsDNA. We show that in…
When multivalent salts are added to dilute DNA solution, the DNA chains condense into bundles of a well-defined size. We explore two physical problems motivated by this phenomenon: the origin of the attractive interactions between the…
Attraction between two indentical objects uniformly charged in solution seems intuitively surprising on the one hand because we know that such objects do repel in vacuum and on another hand because this simple mental picture is still…
Positions of protons in DNA hydrogen bonds are fundamental for the fidelity of the replication process. Because the hydrogen bond is partially covalent the electronic structure of DNA plays an important role in the replication process.…