Nonequilibrium Unfolding of Polyelectrolyte Condensates in Electric Fields

Using simulations and scaling methods, the effect of an electric field on a collapsed polyelectrolyte globule is investigated, where conduction by counterions and the polyelectrolyte itself is taken into account. At a critical field E(*), a nonequilibrium transition occurs at which the polyelectrolyte unfolds and aligns parallel to the external field. E(*) is determined using scaling results for the polarizability of a polyelectrolyte globule and exhibits a dependence on the chain length N, E(*) approximately N(-1/2), which might be useful for electrophoretic separation of charged biopolymers.