Nucleated polymerisation in the presence of pre-formed seed filaments

TL;DR

This paper provides exact analytical results for nucleated polymerisation processes that involve pre-formed seed filaments, bridging the gap between purely soluble and no-nucleation scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive theoretical framework for polymerisation with seed filaments, extending classical models to intermediate cases.

Findings

Derived exact solutions for polymerisation kinetics with seed filaments.

Identified conditions bridging soluble-only and no-nucleation limits.

Enhanced understanding of nucleation processes in polymer systems.

Abstract

We revisit the classical problem of nucleated polymerisation and derive a range of exact results describing polymerisation in systems intermediate between the well-known limiting cases of a reaction starting from purely soluble material and for a reaction where no new growth nuclei are formed.