Microrheology of Dense DNA solutions

材料的微观结构与流变响应之间的相互作用是软物质物理学研究的中心领域之一。特别是环状聚合物的缠结动力学仍然是一个具有挑战性的难题。DNA是一种普遍存在的聚合物，由于其独特的单分散性和多种自然发生的拓扑结构，是研究聚合物物理学基本问题的极好系统。在高浓度下，DNA链形成动态的、瞬时的网络，这是由于拓扑约束阻止DNA分子彼此交叉，这让人想起在致密聚合物溶液中观察到的缠结。本项目的目的是研究稠密的DNA溶液的粘弹性，重点是环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.