Equilibrium Bundle Size of Rodlike Polyelectrolytes with Counterion-Induced Attractive Interactions
arXiv:cond-mat/0407645 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.71.060801
Abstract
Multivalent counterions can induce an effective attraction between like-charged rodlike polyelectrolytes, leading to the formation of polelectrolyte bundles. In this paper, we calculate the equilibrium bundle size using a simple model in which the attraction between polyelectrolytes (assumed to be pairwise additive) is treated phenomenologically. If the counterions are point-like, they almost completely neutralize the charge of the bundle, and the equilibrium bundle size diverges. When the counterions are large, however, steric and short-range electrostatic interactions prevent charge neutralization of the bundle, thus forcing the equilibrium bundle size to be finite. We also consider the possibility that increasing the number of nearest neighbors for each rod in the bundle frustrates the attractive interaction between the rods. Such a frustration leads to the formation of finite size bundles as well, even when the counterions are small.
4 pages, 2 figures; v2: typos corrected, references added, minor changes made to content
References in corpus (4)
- Attraction between DNA molecules mediated by multivalent ions
- Attraction and ionic correlations between charged stiff polyelectrolytes
- Where the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann cell model fails: (I) spurious phase separation in charged colloidal suspensions
- Where the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann cell model fails: (II) the planar case as a prototype study
Cited by in corpus (12)
- Modeling Equilibrium Clusters in Lysozyme Solutions
- Chirality and Equilibrium Biopolymer Bundles
- Braided Bundles and Compact Coils: The Structure and Thermodynamics of Hexagonally-Packed, Chiral Filament Assemblies
- Critical Casimir Effect: Exact Results
- Finite Size Polyelectrolyte Bundles at Thermodynamic Equilibrium
- Aggregation kinetics of stiff polyelectrolytes in the presence of multivalent salt
- Packing defects and the width of biopolymer bundles
- Manipulation of confined polyelectrolyte conformations through dielectric mismatch
- Fluctuation-induced Interactions in Micro- and Nano-systems: Survey of Some Basic Results
- Chiral Structure of F-actin Bundle Formed by Multivalent Counterions?
- Bundle formation in parallel aligned polymers with competing interactions
- Modeling the formation of in vitro filopodia