Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 118101 (2008) [4 pages]Strain Softening in Stretched DNAReceived 15 January 2008; published 10 September 2008 The microscopic mechanics of DNA stretching was characterized using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. By employing an anisotropic pressure-control method, realistic force-extension dependences of effectively infinite DNA molecules were obtained. A coexistence of B and S DNA domains was observed during the overstretching transition. The simulations revealed that strain softening may occur in the process of stretching torsionally constrained DNA. The latter observation was qualitatively reconciled with available experimental data using a random-field Ising model. © 2008 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.118101
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.118101
PACS:
87.14.gk, 87.15.A−, 87.15.La
|
|
About | Terms and Conditions | Subscriptions | Search | Help
Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement. Physical Review®, Physical Review Letters®, Reviews of Modern Physics®, and Physical Review Special Topics® are trademarks of the American Physical Society.