Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Stretching Short Sequences of DNA with Constant Force Axial Optical Tweezers
Published on: October 13, 2011
Methods for determining stability in continuum elastic-rod models of DNA
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. khoffman@math.umbc.edu
Abstract:
Elastic-rod models of DNA have offered an alternative method for studying the macroscopic properties of the molecule. An essential component of the modelling effort is to identify the biologically accessible, or stable, solutions. The underlying variational structure of the elastic-rod model can be exploited to derive methods that identify stable equilibrium configurations. We present two methods for determining the stability of the equilibria of elastic-rod models: the conjugate-point method and the distinguished-diagram method. Additionally, we apply these methods to two intrinsically curved DNA molecules: a DNA filament with an A-tract bend and a DNA minicircle with a catabolite gene activator protein binding site. The stable solutions of these models provide visual insight into the three-dimensional structure of the DNA molecules.
Related Concept Videos
Applications of Stress
The...
Deformation of Member under Multiple Loadings
In the case of a member with a variable cross-section, the strain is not constant but depends on the position. The deformation of an...
Statically Indeterminate Problem Solving
Temperature Dependent Deformation
Relation between Poisson's ratio, Modulus of Elasticity and Modulus of Rigidity
Stability of structures

