Confinement causes opposite effects on the folding transition of a single polymer chain depending on its stiffness

Yuji Higuchi, Kenichi Yoshikawa, and Takafumi Iwaki
Phys. Rev. E 84, 021924 – Published 22 August 2011

Abstract

We investigated the folding transition between an elongated coil state and a compact state on a single polymer chain confined in a small space with different stiffness with the aid of Monte Carlo simulation. In a flexible polymer, the folding transition is retarded in a confined space. In contrast, the transition is promoted for a semiflexible chain, in which the discontinuity of the volume change occupied by a single chain is diminished by confinement. This unique confinement effect is interpreted in terms of conformational entropy and self-avoiding repulsive interaction.

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  • Received 19 April 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.84.021924

©2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Yuji Higuchi* and Kenichi Yoshikawa

  • Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan

Takafumi Iwaki

  • Fukui Institute for Fundamental Chemistry, Kyoto University, Takano-Saikai-Cho 34-4, Kyoto 606-8103, Japan

  • *Present address: Fracture and Reliability Research Institute, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-11-703 Aoba, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
  • yoshikaw@scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp

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Issue

Vol. 84, Iss. 2 — August 2011

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