Adsorption-induced polymer translocation through a nanopore: a Monte Carlo investigation

We study the translocation of a coarse-grained flexible polymer through a nanopore in a membrane induced by its adsorption on the trans side of the membrane. Dramatic differences in the threading behavior are observed if the adhesion to the membrane wall, εw, is below or above the adsorption threshold εcr. For εw<εcr (weak adsorption) the activation barrier for translocation is at ccis0≈N/2 (in terms of the fraction of chain ccis=Ncis/N before the pore), independent of chain length N. For εw>εcr this barrier is at a constant (vanishing) number of passed trans monomers for all N. The mean time of chain passage τtrans∝ccis1.3 when ccis