Paper Number
SM44
Session
Polymer Solutions and Melts
Title
Linear and circular DNA dynamics in semi-dilute solutions
Presentation Date and Time
October 14, 2015 (Wednesday) 5:15
Track / Room
Track 2 / Constellation D
Authors
- Hsiao, Kai-Wen (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign)
- Li, Yanfei (Texas Tech University)
- McKenna, Gregory B. (Texas Tech University, Chemical Engineering)
- Schroeder, Charles M. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering)
Author and Affiliation Lines
Kai-Wen Hsiao1, Yanfei Li2, Gregory B. McKenna2, and Charles M. Schroeder1
1Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; 2Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409
Speaker / Presenter
Hsiao, Kai-Wen
Text of Abstract
In this work, we study the dynamics of ring polymers in semi-dilute solutions of linear DNA using single molecule techniques. Using this approach, we first determined the molecular weight scaling behavior for the longest relaxation times of ring polymers in semi-dilute linear polymer solutions. In addition, we performed a series of step-strain experiments on polymer molecules in planar extensional flow using an automated hydrodynamic trap. In this way, we are able to precisely control the flow strength (Weissenberg number) and the amount of strain applied to single polymer chains, thereby allow for the direct observation of the full stretching and relaxation process of ring polymers in semidilute polymer solutions. We also compare the results for ring polymer stretching to our previous work on linear polymer dynamics in a semi-dilute linear background, which reveals the contribution of polymer chain architecture on polymer dynamics. Overall, our work aims to provide a molecular-level understanding of the role of polymer architecture on the stretching dynamics in non-dilute polymer solutions via direct observation of single chain dynamics in strong flows.