Abstract
A theory of compactization of DNA is proposed based on the notion of the compact DNA particle as a polymer globule. The specifics of the theory is that it regards the polymer solution as a strongly fluctuating system and bi-helical DNA as a rigid one-thread homopolymer. It is shown that the globule appears in dilute polymer solution. The character of the corresponding phasic transition is examined in detail. It is established that with rise in the concentration of the polymer solution the size of the DNA globule must fall and the optical activity increase. The conditions are specified in which in the region of high concentrations of the polymer solution there is decompactization of DNA accompanied by sharp increase in the size of DNA and fall in its optical activity.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 916-926 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Biophysics |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| State | Published - 1981 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics