Polyelectrolyte-Compression Forces between Spherical DNA Brushes
Kati Kegler, Martin Konieczny, Gustavo Dominguez-Espinoza, Christof, Gutsche, Matthias Salomo, Friedrich Kremer, Christos N. Likos
TL;DR
This study uses optical tweezers to measure and analyze the short-range forces between DNA-grafted colloids, revealing how molecular weight and ionic conditions influence DNA brush interactions.
Contribution
It provides a quantitative theoretical model that accurately describes DNA brush compression forces, validated by experimental measurements across various parameters.
Findings
Forces are short-range and occur at the brush height
Theoretical model matches experimental data quantitatively
Force dependence on molecular weight and ionic conditions
Abstract
Optical tweezers are employed to measure the forces of interaction within a single pair of DNA-grafted colloids in dependence of the molecular weight of the DNA-chains, and the concentration and valence of the surrounding ionic medium. The resulting forces are short-range and set in as the surface-to-surface distance between the colloidal cores reaches the value of the brush height. The measured force-distance dependence is analyzed by means of a theoretical treatment based on the compression of the chains on the surface of the opposite-lying colloid. Quantitative agreement with the experiment is obtained for all parameter combinations.
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