Translocation of two-dimensional active polymers through nanopores using Langevin dynamics simulations

• Published in: The Journal of chemical physics 2024-05, Vol.160 (18)
• Main Authors: Hu, Han-Xian, Shen, Yi-Fan, Luo, Meng-Bo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chains (polymeric); Polymers
• ISSN: 0021-9606; 1089-7690
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0204321

The translocation of polymers through nanopores is a complex process influenced by various factors. In this study, the translocation behavior of a two-dimensional active polymer chain, comprised of a head active Brownian particle (ABP) and a tail passive polymer chain, through a nanopore is studied using Langevin dynamics simulations. Results show that the effect of the self-propulsion force of the ABP on the translocation differs significantly from the driving force inside the pore for traditional polymer translocations. Specifically, the translocation time τ initially increases with increasing the magnitude fs of the self-propulsion force and then decreases with a further increase in fs. A small fs lowers the potential barrier for the translocation and thus promotes slow translocations, whereas a large fs directly pulls the polymer chain through the nanopore following the scaling relation τ ∝ fs−1. Moreover, two asymptotic scaling relations between τ and polymer length N, τ ∝ Nα, are found, with the exponent α of about 2.5 for small fs or long N and the exponent α of about 1.4 for short active polymers with large fs. We discover that the slow rotation of the ABP accelerates the translocation process.