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The application of condensed matter methods to the study of the conformation and elastic properties of biopolymers and the transport of DNA through cell membranes

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Abstract

The review draws on earlier interests of the authors and especially in two areas. The first of these consists of modelling polymers in different solvent conditions using Langevin molecular dynamics. For fully flexible polymers, it was found that in good solvents the polymer conformation had extended structure while in poor solvents, a globular-like conformation resulted. Stiffness in semi-flexible polymers allows for the description of a polymer with non-zero persistence length, thereby allowing biological polymers to be modelled. The second area focuses on the transport of DNA through cell membranes and in the related area of using molecular dynamics simulations in understanding biomolecular processes. Finally, under future directions, some of the areas in which techniques from condensed matter have been used in recent years point to how they may be employed in the future.

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Acknowledgments

One of us (NHM) acknowledges partial financial support from the University of Antwerp (UA) through BOF-NOI. Thanks are due to Professors D. Lamoen and C. Van Alsenoy for thereby continuing the affiliation of NHM with the UA. Finally, NHM completed his contribution during a stay at ICTP, Trieste. His thanks are due to Professor V.E.Krovtsov for generous hospitality at ICTP. Both authors also acknowledge the very useful comments of all the referees which has resulted in a much improved article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    C. C. Matthai

  2. Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerpen, Belgium

    N. H. March

  3. Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy

    N. H. March

  4. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    N. H. March

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  1. C. C. Matthai
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  2. N. H. March
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Correspondence to C. C. Matthai.

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Dedicated to Professor Akira Imamura on the occasion of his 77th birthday and published as part of the Imamura Festschrift Issue.

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Matthai, C.C., March, N.H. The application of condensed matter methods to the study of the conformation and elastic properties of biopolymers and the transport of DNA through cell membranes. Theor Chem Acc 130, 1155–1167 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00214-011-1022-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00214-011-1022-9

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