In the last few years, a new physics field is gaining much attention: biophysics. Physicists are especially well prepared to study and model some of the most complicated biological mechanisms. For example, many studies are now focused on better understanding the behavior of polymers such as DNA, RNA, and proteins to help develop techniques to manipulate and analyze these molecules.
This thesis contains two such studies that were conducted using molecular dynamics simulations. The first concentrates on tethered polyelectrolytes under electrophoresis in free-solution. It presents results that, for the first time, directly confirm the equivalence principle as established by Didier Long, Jean-Louis Viovy, and Armand Ajdari. The second centers on confined polyelectrolytes under electrophoresis in free-solution where the radial confinement force is mechanical of origin and transverse to the net motion of the molecules. It redefines "free-draining", a most fundamental property of polyelectrolytes in free-solution, and points towards a new method for separating charged chains by size.
One will also find, at the beginning of the thesis, two entire chapters dedicated to first, put the two studies in the proper context, and second, allow a better comprehension of the theory of polyelectrolytes in free-solution undergoing electrophoresis.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/27445 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Bertrand, Martin |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 45 p. |
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