Search papers, labs, and topics across Lattice.
This paper presents an analytical theory and scaling laws for the entropic separation of tethered nanofilament bundles. The key finding is that a single dimensionless parameter, the ratio of excluded-volume radius to tether length, determines whether filaments separate or aggregate, revealing a counterintuitive attractive regime. Brownian dynamics simulations validate the existence of these paradoxical, attractive metastable states.
Nanofilaments can paradoxically aggregate due to entropic forces, defying the conventional wisdom that entropy always favors disaggregation at the nanoscale.
Entropic forces play a fundamental role in nanoscale phenomena, from colloidal self-assembly to biomolecular disaggregation. Here, we develop an exact analytical theory and find general scaling laws for the entropic separation of tether-mediated nanofilament bundles, revealing that a single dimensionless parameter--the ratio of the excluded-volume radius to the tether length--dictates whether filaments are pushed apart or, contrary to the usual expectation, pulled together. This unexpected regime challenges the view that entropic forces invariably promote disaggregation, instead uncovering conditions under which the bundles can remain in attractive metastable states. Brownian dynamics simulations confirm this paradoxical effect, offering predictive insights for applications in biophysics, soft matter physics, and nanotechnology.
