DNA solutions and gels exhibit a wide range of phenomena, many of which have not yet been fully understood. In the presence of multivalent counterions, attraction between charged DNA strands occurs. Increasing the concentration of multivalent ions leads to a decrease of the osmotic pressure, and a sufficiently high ion concentration results in the precipitation of the polymer. Replacing the monovalent counterions by hydrogen ions (decreasing the pH) also produces a marked decrease of the osmotic pressure, and at low pH a phase transition takes place. In this paper we analyze osmotic swelling pressure measurements and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements made on chemically cross-linked DNA gels swollen in near physiological salt solutions. The effect of calcium ions is compared with that of decreasing the pH of the equilibrium salt solution. We demonstrate that both the concentration dependence of the osmotic pressure and the SANS response of DNA gels display significant differences in the two cases.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/masy.201050542 | DOI Listing |
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Rongcheng Chudao Aquaculture Co., Ltd., Rongcheng 264312, China.
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Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 94901 Nitra, Slovakia.
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Neuromuscular Reference Center and Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
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January 2025
The College of Life and Geographic Sciences, Kashi University, Kashi 844000, China.
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