What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to understand the emergence and stability of helical structures in fluctuating polymer chains.

Living helices in fluctuating polymer chains: Cooperative nucleation and dynamics

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

Randomized trial reveals dynamic helix formation in polymer chains, indicating key roles of cooperativity and fluctuations.

This research aims to understand the emergence and stability of helical structures in fluctuating polymer chains.
Developed a coarse-grained statistical-mechanical theory for helix formation.
Used a three-state model with cooperative interactions to explain nucleation mechanisms.
Formulated dynamics as a stochastic process and derived analytical expressions for formation times and lifetimes.
Demonstrated multistep nucleation mechanism for helix formation in polymers.
Predicted characteristic timescales for helix formation in the nanosecond to sub-microsecond range.
Identified cooperativity and fluctuations as critical factors determining transient secondary structures.

Biman Bagchi (2026) studied this question.

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark