Huang Zaixing
College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016 People's Republic of China.
J Biol Phys. 2011 Jan;37(1):79-90. doi: 10.1007/s10867-010-9200-x. Epub 2010 Sep 2.
As a continuum model of DNA, a thin elastic rod subjected to interfacial interactions is used to investigate the equilibrium configuration of DNA in intracellular solution. The interfacial traction between the rod and the solution environment is derived in detail. Kirchhoff's theory of elastic rods is used to analyze the equilibrium configuration of a DNA segment under the action of the interfacial traction. The influences of the interfacial energy factor and bending stiffness on the toroidal spool formation of the DNA segment are discussed. The results show that the equilibrium configuration of DNA is mainly determined by competition between the interfacial energy and elastic strain energy of the DNA itself, and the interfacial traction is one of the forces that drives DNA folding and unfolding.
作为DNA的连续体模型,一根受到界面相互作用的细弹性杆被用于研究细胞内溶液中DNA的平衡构型。详细推导了杆与溶液环境之间的界面牵引力。利用基尔霍夫弹性杆理论分析了在界面牵引力作用下DNA片段的平衡构型。讨论了界面能因子和弯曲刚度对DNA片段形成环形线轴的影响。结果表明,DNA的平衡构型主要由DNA自身的界面能与弹性应变能之间的竞争决定,界面牵引力是驱动DNA折叠和展开的力之一。