Tiny Spirals

Jülich physicists simulate flow-induced helical coiling of biological macromolecules in microchannels

Jülich, 24 October 2012 – When polymer filaments flow through microscopic channels, they may buckle and take the form of a spiral. Using a physical model, scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich determined the physical forces that play a decisive role in this process. A better understanding of these tiny systems is important for the development of microfluidic systems, which are used in laboratories to study DNA and other flexible macromolecules. The results have been published in the renowned journal Physical Review Letters (10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.197202).

read more (in German)

Last Modified: 22.05.2022