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Topology and Geometry of Biopolymers

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Book cover Mathematical Approaches to Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics

Part of the book series: The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications ((IMA,volume 82))

Abstract

This paper is concerned with some simple lattice models of the entanglement complexity of polymers in dilute solution, with special reference to biopolymers such as DNA. We review a number of rigorous results about the asymptotic behaviour of the knot probabihty, the entanglement complexity and the writhe of a lattice polygon (as a model of a ring polymer) and discuss Monte Carlo results for intermediate length polygons. In addition we discuss how this model can be augmented to include the effect of solvent quality and ionic strength. We also describe a lattice ribbon model which is able to capture the main properties of an oriented ribbon-like molecule (such as duplex DNA).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, York University, Downsview, Ontario, Canada, M3J 1P3

    E. J. Janse van Rensburg

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A1

    Enzo Orlandini, M. Carla Tesi & Stuart G. Whittington

  3. Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306-3027, USA

    De Witt Sumners

Authors
  1. E. J. Janse van Rensburg
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  2. Enzo Orlandini
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  3. De Witt Sumners
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  4. M. Carla Tesi
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  5. Stuart G. Whittington
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science Department, Boston University, 111 Cummington Street, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Jill P. Mesirov

  2. Beckman Institute, Theoretical Biophysics Group, University of Illinois, 405 N. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Klaus Schulten

  3. Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-3027, USA

    De Witt Sumners

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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van Rensburg, E.J.J., Orlandini, E., Sumners, D.W., Tesi, M.C., Whittington, S.G. (1996). Topology and Geometry of Biopolymers. In: Mesirov, J.P., Schulten, K., Sumners, D.W. (eds) Mathematical Approaches to Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications, vol 82. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4066-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4066-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-94838-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-4066-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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