Translocation of a semiflexible polymer through a nanopore in the presence of attractive binding particles.

We study the translocation dynamics of a semiflexible polymer through a nanopore from the cis into the trans compartment containing attractive binding particles (BPs) using the Langevin dynamics simulation in two dimensions. The binding particles accelerate the threading process in two ways: (i) reducing the back-sliding of the translocated monomer, and (ii) providing the pulling force toward the translocation direction. We observe that for certain binding strength (ε_{c}) and concentration (ρ) of the BPs, the translocation is faster than the ideal ratcheting condition as elucidated by Simon, Peskin, and Oster [M. Simon, C. S. Peskin, and G. F. Oster, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 3770 (1992)PNASA60027-842410.1073/pnas.89.9.3770]. The asymmetry produced by the BPs at the trans-side leads to similarities of this process to that of a driven translocation with an applied force inside the pore manifested in various physical quantities. Furthermore, we provide an analytic expression for the force experienced by the translocating chain as well as for the scaled mean first passage time (MFPT), for which we observe that for various combinations of N, ε, and ρ the scaled MFPT (〈τ〉/N^{1.5}ρ^{0.8}) collapses onto the same master plot. Based on the analysis of our simulation data, we provide plausible arguments with regard to how the scaling theory of driven translocation can be generalized for such a directed diffusion process by replacing the externally applied force with an effective force.