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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

DNA Nanotubes as a Versatile Tool to Study Semiflexible Polymers
Published on: October 25, 2017
Mechanics of bundled semiflexible polymer networks
O Lieleg1, M M A E Claessens, C Heussinger
1Lehrstuhl für Biophysik E22, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Strasse 1, 85748, Garching, Germany.
Abstract:
While actin bundles are used by living cells for structural fortification, the microscopic origin of the elasticity of bundled networks is not understood. Here, we show that above a critical concentration of the actin binding protein fascin, a solution of actin filaments organizes into a pure network of bundles. While the elasticity of weakly cross-linked networks is dominated by the affine deformation of tubes, the network of bundles can be fully understood in terms of nonaffine bending undulations.
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