dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaEffective interaction between helical bio-molecules
| Authors | E. Allahyarov, H. Loewen |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9912053 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9912053 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevE.62.5542 |
Abstract
The effective interaction between two parallel strands of helical bio-molecules, such as deoxyribose nucleic acids (DNA), is calculated using computer simulations of the "primitive" model of electrolytes. In particular we study a simple model for B-DNA incorporating explicitly its charge pattern as a double-helix structure. The effective force and the effective torque exerted onto the molecules depend on the central distance and on the relative orientation. The contributions of nonlinear screening by monovalent counterions to these forces and torques are analyzed and calculated for different salt concentrations. As a result, we find that the sign of the force depends sensitively on the relative orientation. For intermolecular distances smaller than $6\AA$ it can be both attractive and repulsive. Furthermore we report a nonmonotonic behaviour of the effective force for increasing salt concentration. Both features cannot be described within linear screening theories. For large distances, on the other hand, the results agree with linear screening theories provided the charge of the bio-molecules is suitably renormalized.
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"abstract": "The effective interaction between two parallel strands of helical\nbio-molecules, such as deoxyribose nucleic acids (DNA), is calculated using\ncomputer simulations of the \"primitive\" model of electrolytes. In particular we\nstudy a simple model for B-DNA incorporating explicitly its charge pattern as a\ndouble-helix structure. The effective force and the effective torque exerted\nonto the molecules depend on the central distance and on the relative\norientation. The contributions of nonlinear screening by monovalent counterions\nto these forces and torques are analyzed and calculated for different salt\nconcentrations. As a result, we find that the sign of the force depends\nsensitively on the relative orientation. For intermolecular distances smaller\nthan $6\\AA$ it can be both attractive and repulsive. Furthermore we report a\nnonmonotonic behaviour of the effective force for increasing salt\nconcentration. Both features cannot be described within linear screening\ntheories. For large distances, on the other hand, the results agree with linear\nscreening theories provided the charge of the bio-molecules is suitably\nrenormalized.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9912053",
"authors": [
"E. Allahyarov",
"H. Loewen"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"physics.chem-ph",
"physics.comp-ph",
"q-bio"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevE.62.5542",
"title": "Effective interaction between helical bio-molecules",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9912053"
},
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