DOI: 10.1063/1.1325230. DNA-Inspired Electrostatics

10.1063/1.1325230

Crossref journal-article

AIP Publishing

Physics Today (317)

Abstract

Under “physiological” conditions (a 0.1 molar solution of NaCl), a DNA molecule takes on the form of a disordered coil with a radius of gyration of several micrometers; if any lengths of the molecule come within 1 nm of one other, they strongly repel. But under different conditions—in a highly dilute aqueous solution that also contains a small concentration of polyvalent cations—the same DNA molecule condenses into a tightly packed, circumferentially wound torus. Figure 1a shows just such a DNA torus. Its average radius is about 50 nm, and the distance between the axes of neighboring, parallel portions of the molecule is only slightly larger than its diameter.

Bibliography

Gelbart, W. M., Bruinsma, R. F., Pincus, P. A., & Parsegian, V. A. (2000). DNA-Inspired Electrostatics. Physics Today, 53(9), 38â44.

Authors 4

William M. Gelbart (first)
Robijn F. Bruinsma (additional)
Philip A. Pincus (additional)
V. Adrian Parsegian (additional)

References 0 Referenced 447

None

Dates

Type	When
Created	18 years, 5 months ago (March 13, 2007, 10:51 a.m.)
Deposited	2 years, 1 month ago (July 6, 2023, 11:38 a.m.)
Indexed	6 days ago (Aug. 29, 2025, 6:35 a.m.)
Issued	25 years ago (Sept. 1, 2000)
Published	25 years ago (Sept. 1, 2000)
Published Online	18 years, 7 months ago (Jan. 12, 2007)
Published Print	25 years ago (Sept. 1, 2000)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Gelbart_2000, title={DNA-Inspired Electrostatics}, volume={53}, ISSN={1945-0699}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1325230}, DOI={10.1063/1.1325230}, number={9}, journal={Physics Today}, publisher={AIP Publishing}, author={Gelbart, William M. and Bruinsma, Robijn F. and Pincus, Philip A. and Parsegian, V. Adrian}, year={2000}, month=sep, pages={38–44} }

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