title: Detailed scaling analysis of low-force polyelectrolyte elasticity.
abstract: Single-molecule force-extension data are typically compared to ideal models of polymer behavior that ignore the effects of self-avoidance. Here, we demonstrate a link between single-molecule data and the scaling pictures of a real polymer. We measure a low-force elasticity regime where the extension L of chemically denatured single-stranded DNA grows as a power law with force f : L approximately f;{gamma} , with gamma approximately 0.60-0.69 . This compares favorably with the "tensile-blob" model of a self-avoiding polymer, which predicts gamma=2/3 . We show that the transition out of the low-force regime is highly salt dependent, and use the tensile-blob model to relate this effect to the salt dependence of the polymer's Kuhn length and excluded-volume parameter. We find that, contrary to the well-known Odijk-Skolnick-Fixman theory, the Kuhn length of single-stranded DNA is linearly proportional to the Debye length of the solution. Finally, we show that the low-force elasticity becomes linear (gamma=1) at approximately 3 M salt, and interpret this as a Theta point of the polymer. At this point, the force-extension data is best described by the wormlike chain model, from which we estimate the bare (nonelectrostatic) persistence length of the polymer to be approximately 0.6 nm .
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ribeck
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Saleh
mesh_terms: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004548:Elasticity / Q000187:drug effects; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D009691:Nucleic Acid Denaturation; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012492:Salts / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004573:Electrolytes; D011108:Polymers; D012492:Salts