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Updated: Sep 23, 2026

Studying DNA Looping by Single-Molecule FRET
Published on: June 28, 2014
Entropy loss in long-distance DNA looping
1Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
Abstract:
The entropy loss due to the formation of one or multiple loops in circular and linear DNA chains is calculated from a scaling approach in the limit of long chain segments. The analytical results allow us to obtain a fast estimate for the entropy loss for a given configuration. Numerical values obtained for some examples suggest that the entropy loss encountered in loop closure in typical genetic switches may become a relevant factor in comparison to both k(B)T and typical bond energies in biopolymers, which has to be overcome by the released bond energy between the looping contact sites.
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