Long DNA molecule as a pseudoscalar liquid crystal

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel phase called pseudoscalar liquid crystal formed by long DNA molecules, characterized by aperiodic order of B and Z forms, and discusses phase transitions and potential DNA-based nano-crystal assembly.

Contribution

It presents a minimalistic phenomenological model for the pseudoscalar liquid crystal phase of DNA and explores phase transition mechanisms between B and Z forms.

Findings

DNA can form a pseudoscalar liquid crystal phase.

Phase transitions between B-DNA and Z-DNA are possible.

Potential for DNA-programmed nano-crystal assembly.

Abstract

We show that a long DNA molecule can form a novel condensed phase of matter, the pseudoscalar liquid crystal, that consists of aperiodically ordered DNA fragments in right-handed B and left-handed Z forms. We discuss the possibility of transformation of B-DNA into Z-DNA and vice versa via first-order phase transitions as well as transformations from the phase with zero total chirality into pure B- or Z-DNA samples through second-order phase transitions. The presented minimalistic phenomenological model describes the pseudoscalar liquid crystal phase of DNA and the phase transition phenomena. We point out to a possibility that a pseudoscalar liquid nano-crystal can be assembled via DNA-programming.