Topological entanglement in polymers and biopolymers is a topic that involves different
fields of science such as chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. One of the main …

Interlocked circular DNA nanostructures, eg, catenanes or rotaxanes, provide functional
materials within the area of DNA nanotechnology. Specifically, the triggered reversible …

Long DNA molecules can self-entangle into knots. Experimental techniques for observing
such DNA knots (primarily gel electrophoresis) are limited to bulk methods and circular …

Equilibrium knots are common in biological polymers—their prevalence, size distribution,
structure, and dynamics have been extensively studied, with implications to fundamental …

Icosahedral bacteriophages pack their double-stranded DNA genomes to near-crystalline
density and achieve one of the highest levels of DNA condensation found in nature. Despite …

Biopolymers in vivo are typically subject to spatial restraints, either as a result of molecular
crowding in the cellular medium or of direct spatial confinement. DNA in living organisms …

A simple molecular mechanics model has been used to investigate optimal spool-like
packing conformations of double-stranded DNA molecules in viral capsids with icosahedral …

Small, icosahedral double-stranded DNA bacteriophage pack their genomes tightly into
preformed protein capsids using an ATP-driven motor. Coarse-grain molecular-mechanics …

Stochastic simulations are used to characterize the knotting distributions of random ring
polymers confined in spheres of various radii. The approach is based on the use of multiple …

Knots appear in a wide variety of biophysical systems, ranging from biopolymers, such as
DNA and proteins, to macroscopic objects, such as umbilical cords and catheters. Although …