1
|
Kim S, Lee NK, Chae MK, Johner A, Park JM. Translocation of Hydrophobic Polyelectrolytes under Electrical Field: Molecular Dynamics Study. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15112550. [PMID: 37299349 DOI: 10.3390/polym15112550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
We studied the translocation of polyelectrolyte (PE) chains driven by an electric field through a pore by means of molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained HP model mimicking high salt conditions. Charged monomers were considered as polar (P) and neutral monomers as hydrophobic (H). We considered PE sequences that had equally spaced charges along the hydrophobic backbone. Hydrophobic PEs were in the globular form in which H-type and P-type monomers were partially segregated and they unfolded in order to translocate through the narrow channel under the electric field. We provided a quantitative comprehensive study of the interplay between translocation through a realistic pore and globule unraveling. By means of molecular dynamics simulations, incorporating realistic force fields inside the channel, we investigated the translocation dynamics of PEs at various solvent conditions. Starting from the captured conformations, we obtained distributions of waiting times and drift times at various solvent conditions. The shortest translocation time was observed for the slightly poor solvent. The minimum was rather shallow, and the translocation time was almost constant for medium hydrophobicity. The dynamics were controlled not only by the friction of the channel, but also by the internal friction related to the uncoiling of the heterogeneous globule. The latter can be rationalized by slow monomer relaxation in the dense phase. The results were compared with those from a simplified Fokker-Planck equation for the position of the head monomer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seowon Kim
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Nam-Kyung Lee
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Min-Kyung Chae
- National Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Daejeon 34047, Republic of Korea
| | - Albert Johner
- Institut Charles Sadron CNRS-Unistra, 6 Rue Boussingault, CEDEX, 67083 Strasbourg, France
| | - Jeong-Man Park
- Department of Physics, the Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon 14662, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Singh SL, Chauhan K, Bharadwaj AS, Kishore V, Laux P, Luch A, Singh AV. Polymer Translocation and Nanopore Sequencing: A Review of Advances and Challenges. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:6153. [PMID: 37047125 PMCID: PMC10094227 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Various biological processes involve the translocation of macromolecules across nanopores; these pores are basically protein channels embedded in membranes. Understanding the mechanism of translocation is crucial to a range of technological applications, including DNA sequencing, single molecule detection, and controlled drug delivery. In this spirit, numerous efforts have been made to develop polymer translocation-based sequencing devices, these efforts include findings and insights from theoretical modeling, simulations, and experimental studies. As much as the past and ongoing studies have added to the knowledge, the practical realization of low-cost, high-throughput sequencing devices, however, has still not been realized. There are challenges, the foremost of which is controlling the speed of translocation at the single monomer level, which remain to be addressed in order to use polymer translocation-based methods for sensing applications. In this article, we review the recent studies aimed at developing control over the dynamics of polymer translocation through nanopores.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Swarn Lata Singh
- Department of Physics, Mahila Mahavidyalaya (MMV), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, UP, India
| | - Keerti Chauhan
- Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, UP, India
| | - Atul S. Bharadwaj
- Department of Physics, CMP Degree College, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj 211002, UP, India
| | - Vimal Kishore
- Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, UP, India
| | - Peter Laux
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (BfR) Maxdohrnstrasse 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Luch
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (BfR) Maxdohrnstrasse 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ajay Vikram Singh
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute of Risk Assessment (BfR) Maxdohrnstrasse 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lu LW, Wang ZH, Shi AC, Lu YY, An LJ. Polymer Translocation. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-023-2975-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
|
4
|
Effect of Solvent Viscosity on the Driven Translocation of Charged Polymers through Nanopores. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-022-2696-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
|
5
|
Mohanta D, Giri D, Kumar S. Effect of solvent gradient inside the entropic trap on polymer migration. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:024135. [PMID: 35291189 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.024135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
By employing the exact enumeration technique on the lattice model of a polymer, we study the migration of the polymer chain across an entropic trap in a quasiequilibrium condition and explore the effect of solvent gradient present in the entropic trap which acts both parallel and perpendicular to the direction of migration. The Fokker-Planck formalism utilizes the free energy landscape of a polymer chain across the channel in the presence of the entropic trap to calculate the migration time. It is revealed that the migration is fast when the solvent gradient acts along the migration axis (i.e., x axis) inside the channel in comparison to the channel having the entropic trap. We report here for the first time that the entropic trap makes the migration faster at a certain value of solvent gradient. We also study the effect of transverse solvent gradient (along the y axis) inside the trap and investigate the structural changes of the polymer during migration through the channel. We observe the nonmonotonic dependence of migration time on the solvent gradient.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sanjay Kumar
- Department of Physics, Institute of Science, BHU, Varanasi 221005, India
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
The force- and flow-induced translocation processes of linear and ring polymers are studied using a combination of multiparticle collision dynamics and molecular dynamics, focusing on the behavior of the polymer translocation time. We compare the force- and flow-induced translocations of linear and ring polymers. It is found that when the translocation time (τ*) is characterized by scaling exponents, δ, δ', and α, via the relations τ* ∼ fδNα and τ* ∼ Jδ'Nα, the scaling exponents are not constants. For long chains tested, α = 1.0 for both force- and flow-induced translocations. The difference between the force- and flow-induced translocations stems from different monomer crowding effects due to distinct flow patterns outside the channel. Furthermore, general relations for polymer translocation time are derived for these two translocation processes, which are in good agreement with the simulation results. Our results provide clear molecular pictures for the force- and flow-induced translocations, which shed light on the understanding of translocation dynamics and provide guidance for practical applications such as molecular sequencing and ultrafiltration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuyuan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P.R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China
| | - Zhenhua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P.R. China
| | - Lijia An
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P.R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China
| | - An-Chang Shi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Chen J, Chen X, Sun LZ, Xu XJ, Luo MB. Translocation of a looped polymer threading through a nanopore. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:4342-4351. [PMID: 33908563 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00007a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Recent experiments reported that the complicated translocation dynamics of a looped DNA chain through a nanopore can be detected by ionic current blockade profiles. Inspired by the experimental results, we systematically study the translocation dynamics of a looped polymer, formed by three building blocks of a loop in the middle and two tails of the same length connected with the loop, by using Langevin dynamics simulations. Based on two entering modes (tail-leading and loop-leading) and three translocation orders (loop-tail-tail, tail-loop-tail, and tail-tail-loop), the translocation of the looped polymer is classified into six translocation pathways, corresponding to different current blockade profiles. The probabilities of the six translocation pathways are dependent on the loop length, polymer length, and pore radius. Moreover, the translocation times of the entire polymer and the loop are investigated. We find that the two translocation times show different dependencies on the translocation pathways and on the lengths of the loop and the entire polymer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jia Chen
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Xian Chen
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| | - Li-Zhen Sun
- Department of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China.
| | - Xiao-Jun Xu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, 213001, China
| | - Meng-Bo Luo
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Bedjaoui S, Bedjaoui L, Benbekeda MEA, Dubois F, Merah D, Supiot P, Foissac C, Maschke U. Unusual swelling of acrylate based crosslinked polymer networks in linear primary alcohols: Experimental and modeling aspects. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.114459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
|
9
|
Kwon S, Sung BJ. History-dependent nonequilibrium conformations of a highly confined polymer globule in a sphere. Phys Rev E 2020; 102:022501. [PMID: 32942375 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.102.022501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Chromatin undergoes condensation-decondensation processes repeatedly during its cell lifetime. The spatial organization of chromatin in nucleus resembles the fractal globule, of which structure significantly differs from an equilibrium polymer globule. There have been efforts to develop a polymer globule model to describe the fractal globulelike structure of tightly packed chromatin in nucleus. However, the transition pathway of a polymer toward a globular state has been often ignored. Because biological systems are intrinsically in nonequilibrium states, the transition pathway that the chromatin would take before reaching the densely packaged globule should be of importance. In this study, by employing a simple polymer model and Langevin dynamics simulations, we investigate the conformational transition of a single polymer from a swollen coil to a compact globule. We aim to elucidate the effect of transition pathways on the final globular structure. We show that a fast collapse induces a nonequilibrium structure even without a specific intramolecular interaction and that its relaxation toward an equilibrium globule is extremely slow. Due to a strong confinement, the fractal globule never relaxes into an equilibrium state during our simulations such that the globular structure becomes dependent on the transition pathway.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seulki Kwon
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742, Republic of Korea
| | - Bong June Sung
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Luo MB, Wu F, Zhang S, Sun LZ. Effect of temperature on the escape of charged polymer chain from a repulsive nanopore. MOLECULAR SIMULATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/08927022.2019.1629435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Bo Luo
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fan Wu
- Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shuang Zhang
- College of Science, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Li-Zhen Sun
- Department of Applied Physics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Park CB, Kwon S, Sung BJ. The effects of a knot and its conformational relaxation on the ejection of a single polymer chain from confinement. J Chem Phys 2019. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5110428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Chung Bin Park
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| | - Seulki Kwon
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| | - Bong June Sung
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Kwon S, Lee S, Cho HW, Kim J, Kim JS, Sung BJ. The breakdown of the local thermal equilibrium approximation for a polymer chain during packaging. J Chem Phys 2019; 150:204901. [PMID: 31153198 DOI: 10.1063/1.5093946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The conformational relaxation of a polymer chain often slows down in various biological and engineering processes. The polymer, then, may stay in nonequilibrium states throughout the process such that one may not invoke the local thermal equilibrium (LTE) approximation, which has been usually employed to describe the kinetics of various processes. In this work, motivated by recent single-molecule experiments on DNA packaging into a viral capsid, we investigate how the nonequilibrium conformations and the LTE approximation would affect the packaging of a polymer chain into small confinement. We employ a simple but generic coarse-grained model and Langevin dynamics simulations to investigate the packaging kinetics. The polymer segments (both inside and outside the confinement) stay away from equilibrium under strong external force. We devise a simulation scheme to invoke the LTE approximation during packaging and find that the relaxation of nonequilibrium conformations plays a critical role in regulating the packaging rate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seulki Kwon
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| | - Seulgi Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| | - Hyun Woo Cho
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| | - Jeongmin Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| | - Jun Soo Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Nano Science, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, South Korea
| | - Bong June Sung
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|