Protein-like dynamical transition of hydrated polymer chains

Abstract

Combining elastic incoherent neutron scattering experiments at different resolutions with molecular dynamics simulations, we report the observation of a protein-like dynamical transition in linear chains of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). We identify the onset of the transition at a temperature $T_d$ of about 225~K. Thanks to a novel global fit procedure, we find quantitative agreement between measured and calculated polymer mean-squared displacements at all temperatures and time resolutions. Our results confirm the generality of the dynamical transition in macromolecular systems in aqueous environments, independently of the internal polymer topology.

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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Molecular insights on Poly(N-isoproylacrylamide) coil-to-globule transition induced by pressure
• Thermoresponsivity of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels in water-trehalose solution and its relation to protein behavior