Martinez-Veracoechea Francisco J, Mognetti Bortolo M, Angioletti-Uberti Stefano, Varilly Patrick, Frenkel Daan, Dobnikar Jure
University of Cambridge, The University Chemical Laboratory, Lensfield Road, CB2 1EW, Cambridge, UK.
Soft Matter. 2014 May 21;10(19):3463-70. doi: 10.1039/c3sm53096e. Epub 2014 Mar 20.
Colloidal particles with DNA "legs" that can bind reversibly to receptors on a surface can be made to 'walk' if there is a gradient in receptor concentration. We use a combination of theory and Monte Carlo simulations to explore how controllable parameters, e.g. coating density and binding strength, affect the dynamics of such colloids. We find that competition between thermodynamic and kinetic trends imply that there is an optimal value for both the binding strength and the number of "legs" for which transport is the fastest. Using available thermodynamic data on DNA binding, we indicate how directionally reversible, temperature-controlled transport of colloidal walkers can be achieved. In particular, the present results should make it possible to design a chromatographic technique that can be used to separate colloids with different DNA functionalizations.
带有能与表面受体可逆结合的DNA“腿”的胶体颗粒，如果受体浓度存在梯度，就可以使其“行走”。我们结合理论和蒙特卡洛模拟来探究可控参数，例如包被密度和结合强度，如何影响此类胶体的动力学。我们发现，热力学趋势和动力学趋势之间的竞争意味着，对于结合强度和“腿”的数量都存在一个最优值，在这个最优值下传输速度最快。利用现有的关于DNA结合的热力学数据，我们指出了如何实现胶体行走器的定向可逆、温度可控传输。特别地，目前的结果应该能够设计出一种可用于分离具有不同DNA功能化的胶体的色谱技术。
