ma6b01805_si_001.pdf (6.85 MB)
Free Energy of a Polymer in Slit-like Confinement from the Odijk Regime to the Bulk
journal contribution
posted on 2016-12-02, 19:49 authored by Jason
S. Leith, Albert Kamanzi, David Sean, Daniel Berard, Andrew C. Guthrie, Christopher M.
J. McFaul, Gary W. Slater, Hendrick W. de Haan, Sabrina R. LeslieWe directly measure
the free energy of confinement for semiflexible
polymers from the nanoscale to bulk regimes in slit-like confinement.
We use convex lens-induced confinement (CLiC) microscopy of DNA to
directly count molecules at equilibrium in a single chamber of smoothly
increasing height. Our data, acquired across a continuum of confinement
regimes, provide a bridge with which to connect scaling theories established
for qualitatively different regimes. We present new experimental data
and simulations that connect the Odijk theory describing sub-persistence-length
confinement, the interpolation model by Chen and Sullivan extending
Odijk to moderate confinement, and the Casassa theory describing the
transition from moderate confinement to bulk. Further, this work establishes
a robust, quantitative platform for understanding and manipulating
biopolymers at the nanoscale, with key applications and insights toward
emerging genomic analysis tools.