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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

DNA Nanotubes as a Versatile Tool to Study Semiflexible Polymers
Published on: October 25, 2017
Freely relaxing polymers remember how they were straightened
Benedikt Obermayer1, Wolfram Möbius, Oskar Hallatschek
1Arnold Sommerfeld Center and Center of NanoScience, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Theresienstrasse 37, 80333 München, Germany.
Abstract:
The relaxation of initially straight semiflexible polymers has been discussed mainly with respect to the longest relaxation time. The biologically relevant nonequilibrium dynamics on shorter times is comparatively poorly understood, partly because "initially straight" can be realized in manifold ways. Combining Brownian dynamics simulations and systematic theory, we demonstrate how different experimental preparations give rise to specific short-time and universal long-time dynamics. We also discuss boundary effects and the onset of the stretch-coil transition.
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