Bio-Polymer Hairpin Loops Sustained by Polarons

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that polarons can stabilize loop-like structures in flexible bio-polymers such as ssDNA, with loop size depending on rigidity and coupling, and these structures are thermally stable.

Contribution

It introduces the concept that polarons can sustain stable loop configurations in bio-polymers, influencing hairpin-loop formation.

Findings

Polarons can sustain loops in ssDNA with as few as 10 base pairs.

Loop size depends on polymer rigidity and electron-phonon coupling.

Loop configurations are thermally stable and facilitate hairpin-loop formation.

Abstract

We show that polarons can sustain loop-like configurations in flexible bio-polymers and that the size of the loops depend on both the flexural rigidity of the polymer and the electron-phonon coupling constant. In particular we show that for single stranded DNA (ssDNA) such loops can have as little as 10 base pairs. For polyacetylene the shortest loop must have at least 12 nodes. We also show that these configurations are very stable under thermal fluctuations and can facilitate the formation of hairpin-loops of ssDNA.