title: Electric potential profile of a spherical soft particle with a charged core.
abstract: The electrostatic potential profile of a spherical soft particle is derived by solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equations on a spherical system both numerically and analytically. The soft particle is assumed to consist of an ion-permeable charged outer layer and a non-permeable charged core with constant charged density. The contribution of the core to the potential profile is calculated for different charges and dielectric constants. Our results show that the charged core heavily influences the local potential within the soft particle. By contrast, the potential distribution outside the particle in the salt solution is found to be weakly dependent on the core features. These findings are consistent with previous experiments showing the minor impact of the core of the MS2 virus on its overall electrical properties. Our studies also indicate that while a change in temperature from 290 K to 310 K only slightly varies the potential, the ionic strength in the range of 1-600 mM has a significant effect on the potential profile. Our studies would provide good understanding for experimental research in the field of biophysics and nanomedicine.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 10 Dao Tan, Ba Dinh, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Anh D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Dustin A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Tracy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 10 Dao Tan, Ba Dinh, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam.
authors.forename: T L Hoai
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 10 Dao Tan, Ba Dinh, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Viet
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, South Korea.
authors.forename: The-Long
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Thanh H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Nguyen
mesh_terms: D004583:Electrons; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055672:Static Electricity; D013696:Temperature