Shear Unzipping of DNA

Chakrabarti, B.; Nelson, D.R.

doi:10.1021/jp808232p

Shear Unzipping of DNA

Chakrabarti, B.; Nelson, D.R.

Authors

B. Chakrabarti

D.R. Nelson

Abstract

We study theoretically the mechanical failure of a simple model of double-stranded DNA under an applied shear. Starting from a more microscopic Hamiltonian that describes a sheared DNA, we arrive at a nonlinear generalization of a ladder model of shear unzipping proposed earlier by deGennes [de Gennes, P. G. C. R. Acad. Sci., Ser. IV: Phys., Astrophys. 2001, 1505]. Using this model and a combination of analytical and numerical methods, we study the DNA “unzipping” transition when the shearing force exceeds a critical threshold at zero temperature. We also explore the effects of sequence heterogeneity and finite temperature and discuss possible applications to determine the strength of colloidal nanoparticle assemblies functionalized by DNA.

Citation

Chakrabarti, B., & Nelson, D. (2009). Shear Unzipping of DNA. Journal of Physical Chemistry B (Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysical Chemistry), 113(12), 3831-3836. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp808232p

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Mar 26, 2009
Deposit Date	Jan 20, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Jan 20, 2015
Journal	Journal of Physical Chemistry B (Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysical Chemistry)
Print ISSN	1520-6106
Electronic ISSN	1520-5207
Publisher	American Chemical Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	113
Issue	12
Pages	3831-3836
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1021/jp808232p