Overcharging of a macroion by an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte
ISSN
3784371
Năm xuất bản
2001
Tác giả
Department of Physics, Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, 116 Church St. Southeast, United States
Shklovskii B.I.
Tóm tắt
Complexation of a polyelectrolyte with an oppositely charged spherical macroion is studied for both salt-free and salty solutions. When a polyelectrolyte winds around the macroion, its turns repel each other and form an almost equidistant solenoid. It is shown that this repulsive correlations of turns lead to the charge inversion: more polyelectrolyte winds around the macroion than it is necessary to neutralize it. The charge inversion becomes stronger with increasing concentration of salt and can exceed 100%. Monte-Carlo simulation results agree with our analytical theory. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V.