Effects of Shape and Boundary on the Electrophoresis of a Polyelectrolyte
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
Lin, Chih-Yuan
Abstract
Electrophoretic bahavior of a polyelectrolyte is investigated theoretically. Polyelectrolyte such as proteins, DNA, and microorganisms are applied widely in modern technology. Due to the interaction between the electric force and hydrodynamic force, the deformation of the polyelectrolyte during its electrophoresis can be significant. To simulate a case to a more realistic condition in practice, the electrophoresis of a polyelectrolyte is modeled taking account of its shape, the effect of double-layer polarization, and the effect of counterion condensation simultaneously. We show that both the double-layer polarization and the counterion condensation can be influenced significantly by the shape of a polyelectrolyte, making its behaviors different both quantitatively and qualitatively with those of a spherical polyelectrolyte, which has not been reported in previous theoretical studies. In addition, boundary effect and the effect of electroosmosis arising from a charged nanochannel on the electrophoretic behavior of the polyelectrolyte are also discussed. We expect that the results provide valuable information for the experimental data of electrophoresis.
Subjects
Eletrophoresis
electroosmosis
polyelectrolyte
counterion condensation
double layer polarization
boundary effect
Type
thesis
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