14 research outputs found
Charge-Reversal Instability in Mixed Bilayer Vesicles
Bilayer vesicles form readily from mixtures of charged and neutral
surfactants. When such a mixed vesicle binds an oppositely-charged object, its
membrane partially demixes: the adhesion zone recruits more charged surfactants
from the rest of the membrane. Given an unlimited supply of adhering objects
one might expect the vesicle to remain attractive until it was completely
covered. Contrary to this expectation, we show that a vesicle can instead
exhibit {\it adhesion saturation,} partitioning spontaneously into an
attractive zone with definite area fraction, and a repulsive zone. The latter
zone rejects additional incoming objects because counterions on the interior of
the vesicle migrate there, effectively reversing the membrane's charge. The
effect is strongest at high surface charge densities, low ionic strength, and
with thin, impermeable membranes. Adhesion saturation in such a situation has
recently been observed experimentally [H. Aranda-Espinoza {\it et al.}, {\sl
Science} {\bf285} 394--397 (1999)]
Effect of Polydispersity and Anisotropy in Colloidal and Protein Solutions: an Integral Equation Approach
Application of integral equation theory to complex fluids is reviewed, with
particular emphasis to the effects of polydispersity and anisotropy on their
structural and thermodynamic properties. Both analytical and numerical
solutions of integral equations are discussed within the context of a set of
minimal potential models that have been widely used in the literature. While
other popular theoretical tools, such as numerical simulations and density
functional theory, are superior for quantitative and accurate predictions, we
argue that integral equation theory still provides, as in simple fluids, an
invaluable technique that is able to capture the main essential features of a
complex system, at a much lower computational cost. In addition, it can provide
a detailed description of the angular dependence in arbitrary frame, unlike
numerical simulations where this information is frequently hampered by
insufficient statistics. Applications to colloidal mixtures, globular proteins
and patchy colloids are discussed, within a unified framework.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Interdiscip. Sci. Comput. Life Sci.
(2011), special issue dedicated to Prof. Lesser Blu
Attraction between DNA molecules mediated by multivalent ions
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 are used and the shape of the DNA molecules is accurately
modelled using different geometrical shapes. We find that multivalent ions
induce a significant attraction between the DNA molecules whose strength can be
tuned by the averaged valency of the ions. The physical origin of the
attraction is traced back either to electrostatics or to entropic
contributions. For multivalent counter- and monovalent salt ions, we find a
salt-induced stabilization effect: the force is first attractive but gets
repulsive for increasing salt concentration. Furthermore, we show that the
multivalent-ion-induced attraction does not necessarily correlate with DNA
overcharging.Comment: 51 pages and 13 figure
Effective interaction between helical bio-molecules
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 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.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures included in text, 100 bibliog