Aggregation kinetics of stiff polyelectrolytes in the presence of multivalent salt
arXiv:0709.0342 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041801
Abstract
Using molecular dynamics simulations, the kinetics of bundle formation for stiff polyelectrolytes such as actin is studied in the solution of multivalent salt. The dominant kinetic mode of aggregation is found to be the case of one end of one rod meeting others at right angle due to electrostatic interactions. The kinetic pathway to bundle formation involves a hierarchical structure of small clusters forming initially and then feeding into larger clusters, which is reminiscent of the flocculation dynamics of colloids. For the first few cluster sizes, the Smoluchowski formula for the time evolution of the cluster size gives a reasonable account for the results of our simulation without a single fitting parameter. The description using Smoluchowski formula provides evidence for the aggregation time scale to be controlled by diffusion, with no appreciable energy barrier to overcome.
arXiv comment6 pages, 5 figures, Phys. Rev. E (Accepted)
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Cited by in corpus (5)
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- Aggregation of rod-like polyelectrolyte chains in the presence of monovalent counterions
- Chiral Structure of F-actin Bundle Formed by Multivalent Counterions?
- Orientationally ordered aggregates of stiff polyelectrolytes in the presence of multivalent salt