On the theory of the electrostatic interaction between parallel cylindrical polyelectrolytes

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science 1973-01, Vol.44 (2), p.298-317
• Main Authors: Brenner, Stephen L, McQuarrie, Donald A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-9797; 1095-7103
• DOI: 10.1016/0021-9797(73)90222-1

A detailed study is presented of the repulsive electrostatic interaction between two parallel polyelectrolyte cylinders immersed in an ionic bathing medium. Careful analysis of pH and ionic strength effects is made possible by the introduction of a self-consistent surface boundary condition for the electrostatic potential. That potential is found by developing an organized solution of the linearized Poisson—Boltzmann equation for the two cylinder geometry. The use of this technique allows correction terms to be exhibited explicitly. It is found that a simple superposition of cylindrically symmetric potentials is adequate at most cylinder separations and it is also verified that of the two generally used approximate boundary conditions, the constant charge rather than the constant potential method is to be preferred for polyelectrolyte systems. The results of this study may have direct applications in questions of the stability of cylindrical polyelectrolyte arrays, such as those seen in tobacco mosaic virus systems and the A -band lattice of myosin in vertebrate striated muscle.