Microrheology of Dense DNA solutions

材料的微观结构和流变响应之间的相互作用是软物质物理领域研究的中心领域之一。尤其是环聚合物的纠缠动力学，仍然是一个具有挑战性的谜题。DNA是一种普遍存在的聚合物，由于其特殊的单分散性和多种自然发生的拓扑结构，是研究聚合物物理基本问题的优秀系统。在高浓度时，由于拓扑限制，DNA链形成一个动态的瞬时网络，阻止DNA分子相互交叉，这让人想起在稠密的聚合物溶液中观察到的纠缠。本项目旨在研究稠密DNA溶液的粘弹性，重点是环形DNA，使用粒子跟踪微观流变学。

The interplay between the microstructure and the rheological response of a material is one of the central areas of investigation in the realm of soft matter physics. The entanglement dynamics of ring polymers, in particular, still present a challenging puzzle. DNA being an ubiquitous polymer, is an excellent system for investigating fundamental questions in polymer physics because of its exceptional monodispersity and multiple naturally occurring topologies. At high concentrations, DNA strands form a dynamic, transient network due to topological constraints preventing DNA molecules from crossing each other, reminiscent of entanglements observed in dense polymer solutions. This project aims to investigate the viscoelastic properties of dense DNA solutions, focusing on ring DNA, using particle tracking microrheology.