| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9727851 | Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications | 2005 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
In a recent experiment, a single DNA double helix is stretched and relaxed in the presence of spermidine, a short positive polyelectrolyte, and the pulling force is measured as a function of DNA extension. In a certain range of spermidine concentration, a force plateau appears whose value shows maximum as a function of spermidine concentration. We present a quantitative theory of this plateau force based on the theory of reentrant condensation and derive almost parabolic behavior of the plateau force as a function of the logarithm of the spermidine concentration in the range of condensation. Our result is in good agreement with experimental data.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Mathematics
Mathematical Physics
Authors
Rui Zhang, B.I. Shklovskii,