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Subject: search.filters.subject.DNA molecules

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    Melting of DNA in confined geometry
    (ARXIV, 2019-03) Singh, Navin
    The stability of DNA molecule during the encapsulation process is a topic of intense research. We study the thermal stability of the double-stranded DNA molecule of different lengths in a confined space. Using a statistical model we evaluate the melting profile of DNA of different length in two geometries: conical and cylindrical. Our results show that not only the confinement but also the geometry of the confined space plays a prominent role in the stability and opening manner of the molecule.
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    DNA Molecule Confined in a Cylindrical Shell: Effect of Partial Confinement
    (Springer, 2022-02) Singh, Navin
    To study the behaviour of DNA molecules during the encapsulation process is a topic of intense research. In the present work, we investigate the stability of the double-stranded DNA molecule of different lengths in a confined shell using a statistical model. The DNA molecules of different lengths are confined in a cylindrical shell either partially or entirely. We consider cylinders of different sizes and study the effect of the size of the cylinder on the microscopic details of the opening of the base pairs.
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    Denaturation of DNA at high salt concentrations
    (ARXIV, 2015-08) Singh, Navin
    Cations present in the solution are important for the stability of two negative strands of DNA molecules. Experimental as well as theoretical results show that the DNA molecule is more stable as the concentration of salt (or cations) increases. It is known that the two strands of DNA molecule carry negative charge due to phosphate group along the strands. These cations act as a shielding particles to the two like charge strands. Recently, in an experiment it is shown that there is a critical value in the concentration of salts (or cations) that can stabilize the helical structure of DNA. If one add more salt in the solution beyond this critical value, the stability of the DNA molecule will disrupt. In this work we study the stability of DNA molecules at higher concentrations. How the stability at higher concentration can be explained through some theoretical calculations is the aim of this manuscript. We consider the PBD model with proper modifications that can explain the negative stability of the molecule at higher concentration. Our findings are in close match with the experimental results.
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    Melting of DNA in confined geometries
    (Springer, 2020-09) Singh, Navin
    The stability of DNA molecules during viral or biotechnological encapsulation is a topic of active current research. We studied the thermal stability of double-stranded DNA molecules of different lengths in a confined space. Using a statistical model, we evaluate the melting profile of DNA molecules in two geometries: conical and cylindrical. Our results show that not only the confinement, but also the geometry of the confined space plays a prominent role in the stability and opening of the DNA duplex. We find that for more confined spaces, cylindrical confinement stabilizes the DNA, but for less confined spaces conical geometry stabilizes the DNA overall. We also analyse the interaction between DNA sequence and stability, and the evenness with which strand separation occurs. Cylindrical and conical geometries enable a better controlled tuning of the stability of DNA encapsulation and the efficiency of its eventual release, compared to spherical or quasi-spherical geometries.
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    Opening of DNA chain due to force applied on different locations
    (APS, 2016-09) Singh, Navin
    We consider a homogeneous DNA molecule and investigate the effect of random force applied on the unzipping profile of the molecule. How the critical force varies as a function of the chain length or number of base pairs is the objective of this study. In general, the ratio of the critical forces that is applied on the middle of the chain to that which is applied on one of the ends is two. Our study shows that this ratio depends on the length of the chain. This means that the force which is applied to a point can be experienced by a section of the chain. Beyond a length, the base pairs have no information about the applied force. In the case when the chain length is shorter than this length, this ratio may vary. Only in the case when the chain length exceeds a critical length, this ratio is found to be two. Based on the de Gennes formulation, we developed a method to calculate these forces at zero temperature. The exact results at zero temperature match numerical calculations.
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    Pulling short DNA molecules having defects on different locations
    (APS, 2015-09) Singh, Navin
    We present a study on the role of defects on the stability of short DNA molecules. We consider short DNA molecules (16 base pairs) and investigate the thermal as well as mechanical denaturation of these molecules in the presence of defects that occur anywhere in the molecule. For the investigation, we consider four different kinds of chains. Not only are the ratios of AT to GC different in these molecules but also the distributions of AT and GC along the molecule are different. With suitable modifications in the statistical model to show the defect in a pair, we investigate the denaturation of short DNA molecules in thermal as well as constant force ensembles. In the force ensemble, we pulled the DNA molecule from each end (keeping other end free) and observed some interesting features of opening of the molecule in the presence of defects in the molecule. We calculate the probability of opening of the DNA molecule in the constant force ensemble to explain the opening of base pairs and hence the denaturation of molecules in the presence of defects.
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    Differential stability of DNA based on salt concentration
    (Springer, 2016-05) Singh, Navin
    Intracellular positive ions neutralize negative charges on the phosphates of a DNA strand, conferring greater strength on the hydrogen bonds that connect complementary strands into a double helix and so confer enhanced stability. Beyond a certain value of salt concentration, the DNA molecule displays an unstable nature in vivo as well as in vitro. We consider a wide range of salt concentrations and study the stability of the DNA double helix using a statistical model. Through numerical calculations, we attempt to explain the different behavior exhibited by DNA molecules in this range. We compare our results with experimental data and find a close agreement.