Selinger Robin L B, Selinger Jonathan V, Malanoski Anthony P, Schnur Joel M
Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6900, 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20375, USA.
Phys Rev Lett. 2004 Oct 8;93(15):158103. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.158103. Epub 2004 Oct 5.
Many biological and synthetic materials self-assemble into helical or twisted aggregates. The shape is determined by a complex interplay between elastic forces and the orientation and chirality of the constituent molecules. We study this interplay through Monte Carlo simulations, with an accelerated algorithm motivated by the growth of an aggregate out of solution. The simulations show that the curvature changes smoothly from cylindrical to saddlelike as the elastic moduli are varied. Remarkably, aggregates of either handedness form from molecules of a single handedness, depending on the molecular orientation.
许多生物和合成材料会自组装成螺旋状或扭曲的聚集体。其形状由弹力与组成分子的取向和手性之间复杂的相互作用决定。我们通过蒙特卡罗模拟研究这种相互作用，采用一种受聚集体从溶液中生长启发的加速算法。模拟结果表明，随着弹性模量的变化，曲率从圆柱形平稳变化到鞍形。值得注意的是，取决于分子取向，由单一手性的分子会形成两种不同手性的聚集体。
