Encapsulation of a polyelectrolyte chain by an oppositely charged spherical surface
Abstract
Using the ground state dominance approximation and a variational theory, we study the encapsulation of a polyelectrolyte chain by an oppositely charged spherical surface. The electrostatic attraction between the polyelectrolyte and the surface and the entropy loss of the encapsulated polyelectrolyte chain dictate the optimum conditions for encapsulation. Two scenarios of encapsulation are identified: entropy-dominated and adsorption-dominated encapsulation. In the entropy-dominated encapsulation regime, the polyelectrolyte chain is delocalized, and the optimum radius of the encapsulating sphere decreases with increasing the attraction. In the adsorption-dominated encapsulation regime, the polyelectrolyte chain is strongly localized near the surface, and the optimum radius increases with increasing the attraction. After identifying a universal encapsulation parameter, the dependencies of the optimum radius on the salt concentration, surface charge density, polymer charge density, and polymer length are explored.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 17, 2011
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.3662069
Entities
People
- Jiafang Wang
- Murugappan Muthukumar
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- University of Massachusetts