Effect of Mono- and Multivalent Salts on Angle-dependent Attractions between Charged Rods

Abstract

Using molecular dynamics simulations we examine the effective interactions between two like-charged rods as a function of angle and separation. In particular, we determine how the competing electrostatic repulsions and multivalent-ion-induced attractions depend upon concentrations of simple and multivalent salt. We find that with increasing multivalent salt the stable configuration of two rods evolves from isolated rods to aggregated perpendicular rods to aggregated parallel rods; at sufficiently high concentration, additional multivalent salt reduces the attraction. Monovalent salt enhances the attraction near the onset of aggregation, and reduces it at higher concentration of multivalent salt.

4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRL

References in corpus (4)

• Reentrant Condensation of DNA induced by Multivalent Counterions
• Simple Model for Attraction between Like-Charged Polyions
• Flexible Linear Polyelectrolytes in Multivalent Salt Solutions: Solubility Conditions
• Raft Instability of Biopolymer Gels

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• Aggregation kinetics of stiff polyelectrolytes in the presence of multivalent salt
• The effect of confinement on the interaction between two like-charged rods
• Chiral Structure of F-actin Bundle Formed by Multivalent Counterions?
• Orientationally ordered aggregates of stiff polyelectrolytes in the presence of multivalent salt