Phase diagrams for DNA denaturation under stretching forces

D. Marenduzzo, A. Maritan, E. Orlandini, F. Seno, A. Trovato

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

Abstract

Double-stranded DNA denaturation induced by an external force is modeled as a pair of complementary self-avoiding polymers with inter-strand binding potential. The resulting force-temperature phase diagram is determined using heuristic arguments, exactly solvable models and 3D Monte Carlo simulations. The results are qualitatively different for the cases where the force is applied to only one strand or to both strands. Crucial ingredients for getting a qualitative agreement with experimental results are the persistence lengths and the monomer sizes of single-stranded and double-stranded DNA. The subtle dependence of the small force behavior on the latter parameters, on the stretching mode and on the presence of denaturation bubbles is analyzed in detail.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberL04001
Pages (from-to)-
Number of pages10
Journal Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2009

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • mechanical properties (DNA, RNA, membranes, bio-polymers) (theory)
  • MONTE-CARLO
  • TRANSITION
  • MOLECULES
  • HELIX
  • MODEL

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