Terpsichori (Chara) Alexiou (Faculty of Physics, Computational and Soft Matter Physics) has successfully acquired a new FWF project under the Elise-Richter program, for research into the properties of topologically interlinked (catenated) DNA minicircles. In her FWF- Project “Mechanically heterogeneous DNA catenanes”, Chara will be working on understanding the effects of intrinsic mechanical heterogeneity and environmental triggers like pH and ionic strength on the material properties of DNA catenanes, by employing accurate modeling across the scales. Complementary to the computational approach, a collaboration with the experimental group of Dr. Emmanuel Stiakakis (Forschungszentrum Jülich) has been established, to provide a means of validation of these models. This work contributes to the fundamental understanding of the physics and the property-guided design of novel, mechanically heterogeneous catenanes.

Project Title: Mechanically heterogeneous DNA catenanes

Project lead: Terpsichori (Chara) Alexiou

Project Partners: Christos Likos, Emmanuel Stiakakis (Forschungszentrum Jülich)