| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5380745 | Chemical Physics Letters | 2014 | 6 Pages |
â¢Coil-helix transition is observed in small cylinder.â¢The size of space determines the shape of conformation.â¢Polymer chain can hardly fold into helix for large radius R and large height H.
An off-lattice dynamic Monte Carlo method is used to study the conformations of biopolymers confined in finite cylinders. The coil-helix transition is observed with the increase of bending energy b for the polymer chain confined in small cylinder, and helical structure becomes more perfect for larger b. Periodicity of tangent-tangent correlation function C(s) begins to disappear when the cylinder height H increases, and the influence of R and b on the ability of helix formation of polymer chain weakens significantly. Therefore, the semiflexible and stiff polymer chains can fold into helix in small cylinder.
Graphical abstractCoil-helix transition is observed when the bending energy b increases for the polymer chain confined in small cylinder. The helical structure becomes more perfect for larger b. However, helix cannot be formed in large cylinder even b is large. The structure of biopolymer is controlled by the stiffness of the chain and the size of finite cylinder.Download high-res image (116KB)Download full-size image
