Internal friction and nonequilibrium unfolding of polymeric globules.
The stretching response of a single collapsed homopolymer is studied using Brownian dynamic simulations. The irreversibly dissipated work is found to be dominated by internal friction effects below the collapse temperature, and the internal viscosity grows exponentially with the effective cohesive strength between monomers. These results explain friction effects of globular DNA and are relevant for dissipation at intermediate stages of protein folding.
Alexander-Katz
Alfredo
A
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Wada
Hirofumi
H
Netz
Roland R
RR
D010582:Bacteriophage lambda / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014783:Viscosity
D004279:DNA, Viral; D011108:Polymers; D011506:Proteins