Diffusion of tagged interacting spherically symmetric polymers

Abstract

We consider the diffusion of two species of spherically symmetric macromolecules in solution under the influence of short range central pair potential interactions as well as two body hydrodynamic interactions. Starting from the N-particle Smoluchowski equation and using Felderhof's approach we derive, to linear order in densities, a pair of coupled diffusion equations for the single particle number densities. There are two independent diffusional modes each with an effective diffusion constant dependent in general upon both the interparticle potentials as well as the hydrodynamic model used for each type of macromolecule. However, in the limit that one species is present at very low density compared with the other species, one of the effective diffusion constants is dominated by hydrodynamic interactions. By tagging these tracer particles to observe their diffusion by light scattering, one can test both the mixed stick-slip boundary condition model and the permeable sphere model of the macromolecules.