Comparing open and closed molecular self-assembly

The researchers study theoretically in the present work the self-assembly of molecules in an open system, which is fed by monomers and depleted in partial or complete clusters. Such a scenario is likely to occur for example in the context of viral self-assembly. They provide a general formula for th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Europhysics letters 2014-01, Vol.105 (2), p.1-1
Main Authors: Castelnovo, M, Verdier, T, et, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The researchers study theoretically in the present work the self-assembly of molecules in an open system, which is fed by monomers and depleted in partial or complete clusters. Such a scenario is likely to occur for example in the context of viral self-assembly. They provide a general formula for the mean-field size distribution which is valid both at equilibrium in a closed system, and in the stationary state in an open system. This allows them to explore in a simple way out-of-equilibrium features for self-assembly and compare them to equilibrium properties. In particular, they identify a region of parameter space for which the out-of-equilibrium size distribution in the presence of external fluxes is equal to the equilibrium size distribution in the absence of external fluxes, up to a constant renormalization factor. The range of validity of this result and its consequences are discussed.
ISSN:0295-5075
1286-4854