Actively Induced Supercoiling Can Slow Down Plasmid Solutions by Trapping the Threading Entanglements.

Area of Science:

• Soft matter physics
• Polymer science
• Materials science

Background:

• Ring polymer topology influences material properties.
• Supercoiled DNA plasmids resist relaxation by forming helical structures.
• In equilibrium, supercoiled rings relax faster than relaxed rings due to threading.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of ring polymers under induced supercoiling.
• To explore how supercoiling agents alter polymer topology and dynamics.
• To demonstrate the potential for creating activity-vitrified materials.

Main Methods:

• Molecular simulations were employed.
• A supercoiling agent was simulated to induce rapid supercoiling in relaxed plasmids.
• The conformational changes and relaxation dynamics of ring polymers were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Supercoiling agents transformed ring polymer topology from open to branched.
• Threaded rings were locked into slowly relaxing supramolecular clusters.
• Nonequilibrium conditions were shown to significantly alter polymer dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Polymer topology under nonequilibrium conditions can be harnessed to tune dynamic behavior.
• Activity-induced clustering offers a route to create novel materials.
• This work suggests a method for creating driven materials vitrified by activity.