2008/08/23 by Suckjoon Jun, D. Thirumalai, Bae-Yeun Ha +1 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies #Protein Structure and Dynamics #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.101.138101
4 + epsilon pages, 3 figures. To appear in Physical Review Letters
arxiv created 2008/08/23 · openalex publication_date 2008/09/22 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Force-induced deformations of a self-avoiding chain confined inside a cylindrical cavity, with diameter D, are probed using molecular dynamics simulations, scaling analysis, and analytical calculations. We obtain and confirm a simple scaling relation -fD approximately R(-9/4) in the strong-compression regime, while for weak deformations, we find fD = -A(R/R0) + B(R/R0)(-2), where A and B are constants, f the external force, and R the chain extension (with R0 its unperturbed value). For a strong stretch, we present a universal, analytical force-extension relation. Our results can be used to analyze the behavior of biomolecules in confinement.