Abstract
We examine the interaction between DNA molecules immersed in an aqueous solution of oppositely charged, trivalent spermidine molecules. The DNA molecules are modeled as planar, likecharged surfaces immersed in an aqueous solution of multivalent, rod-like ions consisting of rigidly bonded point charges. An approximate field theory is used to determine the properties of this system from the weak to the intermediate through to the strong coupling regimes. In the weak coupling limit, the interaction between the charged surfaces is only repulsive, whereas in the intermediate coupling regime, the rod-like ions with spatial charge distribution can induce attractive force between the charged surfaces. In the strong coupling limit, the inter-ionic charge correlations induce attractive interaction at short separations between the surfaces. This theoretical study can give new insights in the problem of interaction between DNA molecules mediated by trivalent spermidine molecules.
Highlights
The nucleus of eukaryotic cells possess chromatin, which is mostly composed of complexes of nuclei acids with proteins
For better understanding of interactions between charged structures within the nucleosome more insight into the interaction between DNA molecules induced by multivalent ions is needed
The presence of an attractive interaction between two like-charged surfaces immersed in an aqueous solution composed of divalent ions in the limit of high surface charge density was first calculated by Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations of Guldbrand et al [19]
Summary
The nucleus of eukaryotic cells possess chromatin, which is mostly composed of complexes of nuclei acids with proteins. For better understanding of interactions between charged structures within the nucleosome more insight into the interaction between DNA molecules induced by multivalent ions is needed. The presence of multivalent counterions, can lead to an intuitively surprising effective attractive interaction between charged particles in aqueous solution. We mention positively charged colloids that condense DNA [6] and DNA that induces attractive interaction between cationic lipid membranes [4]. The presence of an attractive interaction between two like-charged surfaces immersed in an aqueous solution composed of divalent ions in the limit of high surface charge density was first calculated by Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations of Guldbrand et al [19]. After Guldbrand, more detailed MC simulations [15, 20, 21] showed that attractive interactions between charged
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