Electrostatically Driven Polymer Translocation Through a Narrow Pore

Published

January 1, 2000

Author(s)

Z Konkoli, T Ambjornsson, S P. Apell, John J. Kasianowicz

Abstract

We studied theoretically how single-stranded DNA enters a nanometer-scale pore. We describe the flux of DNA molecules into the pore as a function of the applied electrostatic potential. The number of polynucleotide segments that entered the pore's entrance is assumed to determine polymer flux through the pore. To solve the problem analytically, we reduce the total number of polymer coordinates to two and use (i) the number of polymer segments in the pore and (ii) the position of DNA end segment for polymer inside and outside of the pore, respectively. The polymer dynamics is described by corresponding (i) one and (ii) three dimensional Fokker-Planck equations. The model agrees qualitatively with experimental results described by S.E. Henrickson, et al.), Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3057 (2000). In addition, the model predicts a maximum rate of polymer entry and a non-exponential increase of the polymer entry rate with the applied potential.

Citation

Physical Review Letters

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

DNA, Fokker-Planck, ion channel, polymer, polynucleotide, transport

Citation

Konkoli, Z. , Ambjornsson, T. , Apell, S. and Kasianowicz, J. (2000), Electrostatically Driven Polymer Translocation Through a Narrow Pore, Physical Review Letters (Accessed May 3, 2025)