The effects of pH, salt and bond stiffness on charged dendrimers

Author(s)
Sebastian Huißmann, Aaron Wynveen, Christos Likos, Ronald Blaak
Abstract

We have performed molecular dynamics simulations of charged dendrimers with various charge distributions, and including both rigid and soft bonds between the monomers. Whereas the rigid bonds result in a shell-like structure, the soft bonds lead to a larger dendrimer size and a more homogeneous monomer distribution. The measured density profiles of counter-ions and co-ions are compared with those stemming from Poisson-Boltzmann theory. The latter is in very good agreement with simulations for the soft-bond model, whereas for rigid bonds, significant discrepancies arise caused by the fact that Poisson-Boltzmann theory neglects finite-size ion effects. The addition of monovalent salt has no significant influence on the behavior of the dendrimers.

Organisation(s)
Computational and Soft Matter Physics
External organisation(s)
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Journal
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Volume
22
No. of pages
8
ISSN
0953-8984
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/22/23/232101
Publication date
2010
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
1030 Physics, Astronomy
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/06443262-f701-41d5-b19f-f79fb851b9ce