Transient helix formation in charged semiflexible polymers without confinement effects.

Area of Science:

• Polymer Physics
• Biophysics
• Computational Chemistry

Background:

• Semi-flexible polymers are crucial in biological systems.
• Understanding the self-assembly of polymer structures is key to biomolecular function.
• Spontaneous helical formation in polymers is observed but mechanisms are not fully elucidated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mechanism of spontaneous helical structure formation in semi-flexible polymers.
• To identify key factors controlling helix emergence.
• To explore methods for inducing and stabilizing helical polymer structures.

Main Methods:

• Simulations of a bead-spring model for semi-flexible polymers.
• Introduction of long-ranged, spherically symmetric repulsive interactions (e.g., Coulomb potential).
• Analysis of polymer chain behavior under varying charge densities and persistence lengths.

Main Results:

• Repulsive interactions between monomers induce transient helical structures in semi-flexible polymers.
• Helical structure formation is dependent on persistence length and charge density, not monomer details.
• Helices can be formed repeatedly by modulating monomer charge and stabilized by tethering polymer ends.

Conclusions:

• Electrostatic repulsion is a viable mechanism for initiating transient polymer helices.
• Stabilized biological helices likely involve additional interactions beyond simple repulsion.
• The study provides insights into the fundamental principles governing polymer self-organization.