Phase separation in crowded micro-spheroids: DNA-PEG system

被引:61
作者
Biswas, Nupur [1 ]
Ichikawa, Masatoshi [2 ]
Datta, Alokmay [1 ]
Sato, Yuko T. [2 ]
Yanagisawa, Miho [2 ]
Yoshikawa, Kenichi [2 ]
机构
[1] Saha Inst Nucl Phys, Appl Mat Sci Div, Kolkata 700064, India
[2] Kyoto Univ, Grad Sch Sci, Dept Phys, Kyoto 6068502, Japan
关键词
POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL); FORCES; CONDENSATION; ENVIRONMENT; INTERPHASE; COMPACTION; CURVATURE; MIXTURES; COLLAPSE; POLYMER;
D O I
10.1016/j.cplett.2012.05.033
中图分类号
O64 [物理化学(理论化学)、化学物理学];
学科分类号
070304 ; 081704 ;
摘要
Living cells are characterized as micro-vesicles encapsulating highly crowded macromolecular media, including DNA. To probe the intrinsic property of such crowded systems in a micro-closed environment, we observed a mixture of DNA and hydrophilic polymer, PEG within an aqueous micro-spheroid. It was found that the mixture causes phase-segregation by depositing DNA near the spheroid surface, whereas corresponding bulk solution sustains isotropic phase. After the phase segregation, DNA molecules in the condensed phase exhibit time evolution to an ordered state. This surface-mediated segregation is discussed in terms of the depletion effect under micro-confinement. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
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页码:157 / 162
页数:6
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