Ejection dynamics of a semiflexible polymer from a nanosphere

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Polymer Science
• Biophysics

Background:

• Polymer ejection is crucial for understanding viral genome expulsion.
• The dynamics of semiflexible polymer ejection from nanospheres remain poorly understood.
• Existing models do not fully capture the complex interplay of length scales in such systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a theoretical framework for semiflexible polymer ejection from a nanosphere.
• To investigate the influence of polymer length, persistence length, and sphere diameter on ejection dynamics.
• To elucidate the different confinement regimes and energy balance governing the ejection process.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling of polymer dynamics.
• Analysis of free energy changes (confinement and attachment) during ejection.
• Identification of distinct dynamic regimes based on length scales (L0, l, D).

Main Results:

• The ejection process involves 2-3 distinct dynamic regimes.
• Ejection time (τ) is governed by the balance between confinement free energy change and energy dissipation.
• A power-law dependence of ejection time on polymer length (L0), sphere diameter (D), and persistence length (l) was derived: τ∝L_{0}^{α}D^{β}l^{γ}, with specific ranges for α, β, and γ.

Conclusions:

• The developed theory provides insights into the physics of polymer ejection from confined geometries.
• The findings offer a basis for comparing theoretical predictions with experimental and simulation data.
• This research contributes to a fundamental understanding of polymer dynamics relevant to biological systems like viral infections.