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arXiv · 0906.4015

Effects of Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations of the Electric Field on DNA Condensation

Alfredo Iorio·Samik Sen·Siddhartha Sen
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Abstract

By assuming that not only counter-ions but DNA molecules as well are thermally distributed according to a Boltzmann law, we propose a modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation at the classical level as starting point to compute the effects of quantum fluctuations of the electric field on the interaction among DNA-cation complexes. The latter are modeled here as infinite one-dimensional wires ($\delta$-functions). Our goal is to single out such quantum-vacuum-driven interaction from the counterion-induced and water-related interactions. We obtain a universal, frustration-free Casimir-like (codimension 2) interaction that extensive numerical analysis show to be a good candidate to explain the formation and stability of DNA aggregates. Such Casimir energy is computed for a variety of configurations of up to 19 DNA strands in a hexagonal array. It is found to be strongly many-body.

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Alfredo Iorio, Samik Sen, Siddhartha Sen. 2009-06-22. Effects of Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations of the Electric Field on DNA Condensation. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11534-010-0037-5

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