Salt-induced aggregation of stiff polyelectrolytes

Fazli, Hossein; Mohammadinejad, Sarah; Golestanian, Ramin

doi:10.1088/0953-8984/21/42/424111

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The aggregation dynamics, in the case of RLPE chains, was studied by looking at the scale free power law evolution of size of the aggregates (or decrease in number of aggregates, N (t) ∼ t −θ ). From large-scale simulations and modeling the evolution of the aggregate size distribution through Smoluchowski coagulation equation, we obtained θ = 2/3, in contrast to the exponent value of θ = 1, obtained in other studies 73,74 . This power law exponent was shown to be independent of charge density of the polymers, valency of the counterions, density, and length of the PE chain, and the aggregation of RLPE chains was shown to be diffusion-limited 92 .…”

Section: Introductioncontrasting

confidence: 83%

Aggregation of flexible polyelectrolytes: Phase diagram and dynamics

Tom

Rajesh

Vemparala

2017

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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Similarly charged polymers in solution, known as polyelectrolytes, are known to form aggregated structures in the presence of oppositely charged counterions. Understanding the dependence of the equilibrium phases and the dynamics of the process of aggregation on parameters such as backbone flexibility and charge density of such polymers is crucial for insights into various biological processes which involve biological polyelectrolytes such as protein, DNA, etc. Here, we use large-scale coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to obtain the phase diagram of the aggregated structures of flexible charged polymers and characterize the morphology of the aggregates as well as the aggregation dynamics, in the presence of trivalent counterions. Three different phases are observed depending on the charge density: no aggregation, a finite bundle phase where multiple small aggregates coexist with a large aggregate and a fully phase separated phase. We show that the flexibility of the polymer backbone causes strong entanglement between charged polymers leading to additional time scales in the aggregation process. Such slowing down of the aggregation dynamics results in the exponent, characterizing the power law decay of the number of aggregates with time, to be dependent on the charge density of the polymers. These results are contrary to those obtained for rigid polyelectrolytes, emphasizing the role of backbone flexibility.

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Section: Introductioncontrasting

confidence: 83%

Aggregation of flexible polyelectrolytes: Phase diagram and dynamics

Tom

Rajesh

Vemparala

2017

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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“…It is reasonable to find the origin from the mechanism of the counterion-induced attractive interaction between like-charged polyelectrolytes as it successfully explains the case of cytoskeletal filaments. [50][51][52][53][54] Moreover, the coupling kinetics obtained from a simulation study on actin filaments 54 is quite similar to what we observe in our experimental study. However, the high ion concentration and the high valency of the ions generally required for the counterion-assisted aggregation are still far removed from our experimental situation.…”

Section: Electric Field-induced Mt Condensationsupporting

confidence: 86%

Electric field-induced reversible trapping of microtubules along metallic glass microwire electrodes

Kim

Sikora

Nakayama

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Physics

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Microtubules are among bio-polymers providing vital functions in dynamic cellular processes. Artificial organization of these bio-polymers is a requirement for transferring their native functions into device applications. Using electrophoresis, we achieve an accumulation of microtubules along a metallic glass (Pd 42.5 Cu 30 Ni 7.5 P 20) microwire in solution. According to an estimate based on migration velocities of microtubules approaching the wire, the electrophoretic mobility of microtubules is around 10 À12 m 2 /Vs. This value is four orders of magnitude smaller than the typical mobility reported previously. Fluorescence microscopy at the individual-microtubule level shows microtubules aligning along the wire axis during the electric field-induced migration. Caseintreated electrodes are effective to reversibly release trapped microtubules upon removal of the external field. An additional result is the condensation of secondary filamentous structures from oriented microtubules. V

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“…Even though some of the aforementioned studies do not only involve analytical calculations but also computer simulations capturing the effects of counterion condensation [44,45,48], we would like to point to a number of publications approaching this topic via simulations [54,55,56,57].…”

Section: Bundle Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semiflexible Biopolymers in Bundled Arrangements

2016

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Bundles and networks of semiflexible biopolymers are key elements in cells, lending them mechanical integrity while also enabling dynamic functions. Networks have been the subject of many studies, revealing a variety of fundamental characteristics often determined via bulk measurements. Although bundles are equally important in biological systems, they have garnered much less scientific attention since they have to be probed on the mesoscopic scale. Here, we review theoretical as well as experimental approaches, which mainly employ the naturally occurring biopolymer actin, to highlight the principles behind these structures on the single bundle level.

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Salt-induced aggregation of stiff polyelectrolytes

Cited by 17 publications

References 45 publications

Aggregation of flexible polyelectrolytes: Phase diagram and dynamics

Aggregation of flexible polyelectrolytes: Phase diagram and dynamics

Electric field-induced reversible trapping of microtubules along metallic glass microwire electrodes

Semiflexible Biopolymers in Bundled Arrangements

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