Compressive deformations of ring polymers in a confining channel

Escape dynamics of active ring polymers in a cylindrical nanochannel

“…The behaviors of polymers confined in a nanochannel have received long-standing academic attention, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] not only concerning the physical properties of polymers when they differ from the free state [8][9][10] but also about many biological processes, such as the process of chromosome segregation in slender-shaped bacteria, 11,12 the ejection of DNA into cells by phages, 13 and the packaging of genes in phagocytic bacteria. 14 Recently, this issue has been brought into focus again due to the significantly increased possibilities of using nanochannels as a tool for studying and manipulating DNA molecules, e.g., the study of single polymers under geometric constraints is developed for application, 15,16 genomic mapping of DNA in micro/nanofluidic devices, 17,18 and studying restricted DNA conformations in various environments.…”

“…Different from linear polymers, ring polymers, such as bacterial chromosomes, 31 do not have free ends, which leads to their unique dynamic characteristics. 5,32 Topology plays a crucial role in various biophysical contexts where DNA is constrained, 33 e.g., the DNA strands of the phage can escape from the capsid to infect the bacterial cells, 13,34 the segregation of the compacted circular genome of some bacteria 35 and the compression and ejection of the knotted DNA of a virus. 12,36 Recently, active polymers linked by active particles have gradually entered into the research field of polymers.…”