Polymer Release out of a Spherical Vesicle through a Pore

TL;DR

This paper investigates how membrane curvature influences polymer translocation times through pores, revealing different scaling behaviors depending on vesicle size relative to polymer size, and explores polymer capture into spherical buds.

Contribution

It introduces a mean first passage time approach to analyze polymer release from spherical vesicles, highlighting the effect of membrane curvature on translocation dynamics.

Findings

Translocation time scales as L^2 for R<R_G.

Translocation time scales as L^3 for R≫R_G.

Polymer capture into spherical buds is also studied.

Abstract

Translocation of a polymer out of curved surface or membrane is studied via mean first passage time approach. Membrane curvature gives rise to a constraint on polymer conformation, which effectively drives the polymer to the outside of membrane where the available volume of polymer conformational fluctuation is larger. Considering a polymer release out of spherical vesicle, polymer translocation time $\tau$ is changed to the scaling behavior $\tau\sim L^2$ for $R<R_G$, from $\tau\sim L^3$ for $R\gg R_G$, where $L$ is the polymer contour length and $R$, $R_G$ are vesicle radius and polymer radius of gyration respectively. Also the polymer capture into a spherical budd is studied and possible apparatus for easy capture is suggested.