Related papers: Binding effects in multivalent Gibbs-Donnan equili…
The electrostatic double layer force is key to determining the stability and self-assembly of charged colloids and many other soft matter systems. Fully understanding the attractive force between two like-charged surfaces remains a great…
The effective force between two parallel DNA molecules is calculated as a function of their mutual separation for different valencies of counter- and salt ions and different salt concentrations. Computer simulations of the primitive model…
This paper discusses the little-known fact that Donnan's equilibrium criteria established over 100 years ago neglected the coupling between ion concentrations and the osmotic pressure. Such coupling can be treated based on general…
Strongly correlated electrostatics of DNA systems has drawn the interest of many groups, especially the condensation and overcharging of DNA by multivalent counterions. By adding counterions of different valencies and shapes, one can…
We study the control parameters that govern the dynamics of in vitro DNA ejection in bacteriophage lambda. Past work has demonstrated that bacteriophage DNA is highly pressurized; this pressure has been hypothesized to help drive DNA…
The forces between charged macromolecules, usually given in terms of osmotic pressure, are highly affected by the intervening ionic solution. While in most theoretical studies the solution is treated as a homogeneous structureless…
We consider a system composed of a monodisperse charge-stabilized colloidal suspension in the presence of monovalent salt, separated from the pure electrolyte by a semipermeable membrane, which allows the crossing of solvent, counterions,…
The electrostatic correlations between ions profoundly influence the structure and forces within electrical double layers. Here, we apply the modified Gaussian Renormalized Fluctuation theory to investigate the counter-intuitive phenomenon…
We discuss how a balance can be established between the force acting to eject DNA from viral capsids and the force resisting its entry into a colloidal suspension which mimics the host cell cytoplasm. The ejection force arises from the…
The study of the electrical double layer lies at the heart of colloidal and interfacial science. The standard mean-field Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theory is incapable of modeling many phenomena originated from ion correlation. An important…
The concept of the partial osmotic pressure of ions in an electrolyte solution is critically examined. In principle these can be defined by introducing a solvent-permeable wall and measuring the force per unit area which can certainly be…
The electrostatic Schwinger-Dyson equations are derived and solved for an electrolyte mixture composed of mono- and multivalent ions confined to a negatively charged nanoslit. The closure of these equations is based on an asymmetric…
Using molecular dynamics simulations we examine the effective interactions between two like-charged rods as a function of angle and separation. In particular, we determine how the competing electrostatic repulsions and…
We have directly observed reversal of the polarity of charged surfaces in water upon the addition of tri- and quadrivalent ions using atomic force microscopy. The bulk concentration of multivalent ions at which charge inversion reversibly…
We present a theoretical description of the effect of polyvalent ions on the interaction between titratable macro-ions. The model system consists of two point-like macro-ions with dissociable sites, immersed in an asymmetric ionic mixture…
Similarly and highly charged plates in the presence of multivalent counter ions attract each other, leading to electrostatically bound states. Using Monte-Carlo simulations we obtain the inter-plate pressure in the global parameter space.…
Intracellular positive ions neutralise negative charges on the phosphates of a DNA strand conferring greater strength on the hydrogen bonds that connect complementary strands into a double helix and so confer enhanced stability. Beyond a…
We study the non-equilibrium dynamics of lipid membranes with proteins that actively pump ions across the membrane. We find that the activity leads to a fluctuating force distribution due to electrostatic interactions arising from variation…
Ion-mediated interaction is important for the properties of polyelectrolytes such as colloids and nucleic acids. The effective pair interactions between two polyelectrolytes have been investigated extensively, but the many-body effect for…
The interaction of an electron with a local static charge distribution (e.g., an atom or molecule) is dominated at large distances by the radial 1/r Coulomb potential. The second order effect comes from the non-central electric dipole…