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How to control a polymer conformation using active forces and sequence design.

Aleksandr Buglakov1, Alexander Chertovich1

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Active polymers, even with a small fraction of active units, exhibit self-ordering and collapse. This behavior is independent of the specific activity model, suggesting universal properties for these responsive materials.

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Area of Science:

  • Polymer Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Active polymers possess monomer units that convert external energy into directed motion.
  • This intrinsic activity drives self-ordering in polymers, creating nonequilibrium states.
  • Such polymers are crucial for understanding biological systems and developing novel synthetic materials.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the conformational behavior of active copolymers with varying distributions of active and passive units.
  • Determine the impact of active unit fraction and block length on copolymer structure.
  • Assess the universality of observed phenomena across different activity models.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized molecular dynamics simulations to model copolymer behavior.
  • Analyzed conformational changes in response to varying fractions of active beads.
  • Examined the influence of repeating block lengths on polymer structure.

Main Results:

  • Even a small fraction of active beads induces polymer collapse.
  • The fraction of active units significantly influences conformational characteristics.
  • The length of repeating blocks affects the overall structure of active copolymers.
  • Observed phenomena are qualitatively independent of the specific activity model employed.

Conclusions:

  • Active copolymers exhibit unique nonequilibrium self-ordering and collapse behaviors.
  • A minimal presence of active units is sufficient to drive significant conformational changes.
  • The findings suggest universal principles governing the behavior of active polymers, applicable to both biological and synthetic systems.