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End‐Pulled Translocation of a Star Polymer Out of a Confining Cylindrical Cavity
Author(s) -
Tilahun Mesay,
Tatek Yergou B.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
macromolecular theory and simulations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1521-3919
pISSN - 1022-1344
DOI - 10.1002/mats.202000090
Subject(s) - chromosomal translocation , langevin dynamics , boundary (topology) , chain (unit) , nanopore , polymer , physics , mechanics , materials science , tube (container) , molecular dynamics , molecular physics , chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , statistical physics , mathematics , mathematical analysis , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , astronomy , gene
A Langevin dynamics computer simulation is carried out to study the translocation of a single homogeneous star polymer out of a cylindrical cavity connected to a membrane wall with a circular nanopore along the tube axis. The ejection process is driven through an external pulling force applied on the free end monomer of the chain leading arm. The results show that, for a given chain mass and for relatively narrow pores, the mean translocation time 〈τ〉 exhibits a non‐monotonic dependence on the chain functionality f with the existence of a minimum at a critical functionality that defines a boundary between two distinct translocation regimes. Moreover, for a given functionality, the variations of the mean translocation time with respect to the chain mass and the magnitude of the pulling force respectively, are both found to follow a power law relationship. Finally, it has been demonstrated that the translocation dynamics can be significantly altered by changing the confining tube dimensions, with the existence of an optimal tube aspect ratio that minimizes the chain mean translocation time 〈τ〉.