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Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
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Published on: September 26, 2016

Probability distributions for polymer translocation.

Clément Chatelain1, Yacov Kantor, Mehran Kardar

  • 1Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|October 15, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study numerically measures polymer translocation through a membrane pore. Results show translocation time distributions are length-independent and exhibit a stable shape for uncompleted translocations.

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Area of Science:

  • Polymer physics
  • Statistical mechanics
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Understanding polymer dynamics is crucial in various scientific fields.
  • Membrane pores play a vital role in biological processes, including DNA and protein transport.
  • Polymer translocation through pores is a fundamental problem with applications in nanotechnology and biotechnology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To numerically investigate the translocation dynamics of a self-avoiding polymer through a two-dimensional membrane pore.
  • To analyze the probability distribution of translocation time (T) and the spatial distribution of the polymer during translocation.
  • To characterize the scaling behavior and asymptotic properties of these distributions.

Main Methods:

  • Numerical simulations were employed to model the passage of a self-avoiding polymer through a membrane pore in a 2D system.
  • The probability distribution of translocation time, Q(T), was calculated.
  • The probability distribution of the translocation coordinate, P(s,t), was measured at various time points.

Main Results:

  • The scaled translocation time distribution, Q(T), was found to be independent of polymer length and exhibited exponential decay for large T.
  • At short times, the translocation coordinate distribution P(s,t) followed a Gaussian form with subdiffusive growth (variance ~ t^0.8).
  • For times exceeding the mean translocation time, P(s,t) for polymers not yet translocated adopted a non-trivial stable shape.

Conclusions:

  • The translocation dynamics of polymers through pores exhibit universal characteristics independent of polymer length.
  • The subdiffusive nature of polymer movement and the emergence of a stable distribution shape are key findings.
  • This research provides insights into the fundamental mechanisms governing polymer transport across membranes.