204 research outputs found
Electrophoresis of a rod macroion under polyelectrolyte salt: Is mobility reversed for DNA?
By molecular dynamics simulation, we study the charge inversion phenomenon of
a rod macroion in the presence of polyelectrolyte counterions. We simulate
electrophoresis of the macroion under an applied electric field. When both
counterions and coions are polyelectrolytes, charge inversion occurs if the
line charge density of the counterions is larger than that of the coions. For
the macroion of surface charge density equal to that of the DNA, the reversed
mobility is realized either with adsorption of the multivalent counterion
polyelectrolyte or the combination of electrostatics and other mechanisms
including the short-range attraction potential or the mechanical twining of
polyelectrolyte around the rod axis.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Applied Statistical Physics of Molecular
Engineering (Mexico, 2003). Journal of Physics: Condensed Matters, in press
(2004). Journal of Physics: Condensed Matters, in press (2004
Polymer reptation and nucleosome repositioning
We consider how beads can diffuse along a chain that wraps them, without
becoming displaced from the chain; our proposed mechanism is analogous to the
reptation of "stored length" in more familiar situations of polymer dynamics.
The problem arises in the case of globular aggregates of proteins (histones)
that are wound by DNA in the chromosomes of plants and animals; these beads
(nucleosomes) are multiply wrapped and yet are able to reposition themselves
over long distances, while remaining bound by the DNA chain.Comment: 9 pages, including 2 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Compact Polyelectrolyte Complexes: âSaloplasticâ Candidates for Biomaterials
Precipitates of polyelectrolyte complexes were transformed into rugged shapes suitable for bioimplants by ultracentrifugation in the presence of high salt concentration. Salt ions dope the complex, creating a softer material with viscous fluid-like properties. Complexes that were compacted under the centrifugal field (CoPECs) were made from poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium), PDADMA, as polycation, and poly(styrene sulfonate), PSS, or poly(methacrylic acid), PMAA, as polyanion. Dynamic mechanical testing revealed a rubbery plateau at lower frequencies for PSS/PDADMA with moduli that decreased with increasing salt concentration, as internal ion pair cross-links were broken. CoPECs had significantly lower modulii compared to similar polyelectrolyte complexes prepared by the âmultilayering â method. The difference in mechanical properties was ascribed to higher water content (located in micropores) for the former and, more importantly, to their nonstoichiometric polymer composition. The modulus of PMAA/PDADMA CoPECs, under physiological conditions, demonstrated dynamic mechanical properties that were close to those of the nucleus pulposus in an intervertebral disk
Multi-Layered Films Containing a Biomimetic Stimuli-Responsive Recombinant Protein
Electrostatic self-assembly was used to fabricate new smart multi-layer coatings, using a recombinant elastin-like polymer (ELP) and chitosan as the counterion macromolecule. The ELP was bioproduced, purified and its purity and expected molecular weight were assessed. Aggregate size measurements, obtained by light scattering of dissolved ELP, were performed as a function of temperature and pH to assess the smart properties of the polymer. The build-up of multi-layered films containing ELP and chitosan, using a layer-by-layer methodology, was followed by quartz-crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. Atomic force microscopy analysis permitted to demonstrate that the topography of the multi-layered films could respond to temperature. This work opens new possibilities for the use of ELPs in the fabrication of biodegradable smart coatings and films, offering new platforms in biotechnology and in the biomedical area
Single-component layer-by-layer weak polyelectrolyte films and capsules: Loading and release of functional molecules
Poly(carboxylic acid) hydrogel films and hollow capsules undergo reversible size changes in response to variations in pH and/or ionic strength. The films and capsules were obtained from hydrogenbonded poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone/poly(carboxylic acid) layer-by-layer films by chemical crosslinking of the polyacid, followed by pH-induced removal of poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone. Surface-attached hydrogel films present attractive matrices for reversible pH-stimulated loading and/or controlled release of large amounts of synthetic or natural macromolecules including proteins. By varying acidity of poly(carboxylic acids), the hydrogel swelling and the corresponding values of pH for encapsulation/release of functional molecules could be tuned in a wide range from pH 5 to 10. In addition, the capsules are capable of entrapping macromolecules by "locking" the capsule wall with an electrostatically associating polycation, followed by the release of the encapsulated macromolecules at high salt concentrations
Diffusion of polymer-coated nanoparticles studied by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
Introduction. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), an experimental method to extract information on dynamical processes from the fluctuation of fluores-cence intensity, has enjoyed widespread application in chemical biology.1-3 For example, it has been used t
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