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Stretching a stiff polymer in a tube

  • Nano- and micromechanical properties of hierarchical biological materials
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Abstract

The present paper investigates the force-extension behavior of a stiff polymer under stretching inside a small tube. We develop a theory and perform Brownian dynamic simulations based on a recently developed generalized bead-rod model (GBR) to show that the force-extension relation of such a strongly confined polymer chain can be described by that of an unconfined polymer subject to an effective force which is derived based on Odijk’s theory of a confined polymer chain.

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Notes

  1. In an unconfined solution, a stiff polymer usually means that its contour length L is smaller than its persistence length p. On the other hand, a polymer confined in a small tube can be regarded as stiff as long as the persistence length p of a polymer is larger than the tube radius R, irrespective of the ratio L/p. We do not distinguish these two situations in the current study.

  2. Here, a “tightly” or “strongly” confined polymer implies that the typical length scale of the confinement is smaller than the polymer’s persistence length.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Engineering, Brown University, 182 Hope Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA

    Jizeng Wang & Huajian Gao

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  1. Jizeng Wang
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  2. Huajian Gao
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Correspondence to Jizeng Wang.

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Wang, J., Gao, H. Stretching a stiff polymer in a tube. J Mater Sci 42, 8838–8843 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-007-1846-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-007-1846-9

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