What is it about?
What happens to knots in linear macromolecules or proteins under the impact of simple shear? Do they unfold or tighten? We demonstrate that under shear existing loosely localized knots in polymer coils typically tighten to several segments beyond a certain shear rate threshold.
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Why is it important?
Even though knots play an essential role in polymers and biological molecules, most notably in DNA and also in proteins, e.g., as possible cause of the Parkinson decease, their role is still poorly understood.
Perspectives
Using Molecular Dynamics modeling we demonstrate that knots in linear macromolecules typically tighten when subjected to simple shear.
Prof. Andrey Ivanov Milchev
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
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This page is a summary of: Effect of simple shear on knotted polymer coils and globules, The Journal of Chemical Physics, December 2024, American Institute of Physics,
DOI: 10.1063/5.0236904.
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