title: Molecular recognition by van der Waals interaction between polymers with sequence-specific polarizabilities.
abstract: We analyze van der Waals interactions between two rigid polymers with sequence-specific, anisotropic polarizabilities along the polymer backbones, so that the dipole moments fluctuate parallel to the polymer backbones. Assuming that each polymer has a quenched-in polarizability sequence which reflects, for example, the polynucleotide sequence of a double-stranded DNA molecule, we study the van der Waals interaction energy between a pair of such polymers with rod-like structure for the cases where their respective polarizability sequences are (i) distinct and (ii) identical, with both zero and non-zero correlation length of the polarizability correlator along the polymer backbones in the latter case. For identical polymers, we find a novel r(-5) scaling behavior of the van der Waals interaction energy for small inter-polymer separation r, in contradistinction to the r(-4) scaling behavior of distinct polymers, with furthermore a pronounced angular dependence favoring attraction between sufficiently aligned identical polymers. Such behavior can assist the molecular recognition between polymers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska ulica 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Bing-Sui
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), P.O. Box 19395-5531, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naji
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska ulica 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Podgornik