Regensburg 2004 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 50: Poster Session "Biological Physics"

AKB 50.111: Poster

Friday, March 12, 2004, 10:30–13:00, B

Entropic Forces between Biopolymers — •Azam Gholami¹ and Erwin Frey^1,2 — ¹Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Abteilung Theoretische Physik, Glienicker Strasse 100, D-14109 Berlin, Germany — ²Fachbereich Physik, Freie Universitat Berlin, Arnimallee 4, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

The interaction between biopolymers in the cytoskeleton is characterized by the interplay of energy and entropy. There are electrostatic forces, interactions mediated by crosslinking proteins, and steric interactions induced by thermal fluctuations. We study these steric interactions in various geometries using Monte Carlo methods. The Monte Carlo data give clear evidence for the existence of repulsive interaction between biopolymers at short distances. The form of the repulsive interaction is in good agreement with the analytical results obtained from scaling arguments.