Interactions Between Charged Macroions Mediated by Molecules with Rod-like Charged Structures

Abstract

A short review of recent theoretical advances in studies of the interaction between highly charged systems embedded in a solution of rod-like molecules is presented. The system is theoretically described by the functional density theory, where the correlations within the rod-like molecules are accounted for. We show that for sufficiently long molecules and large surface charge densities, an attractive force between like-charged surfaces arises due to the spatially distributed charges within the molecules. The added salt has an influence on the condition for the attractive force between like-charged surfaces. The theoretical results are compared with Monte Carlo simulations. Many phenomena motivate the study of the interaction between like-charged surfaces (DNA condensation, virus aggregation, yeast flocculation, cohesion of cement paste).

Keywords

• Electrical double layer
• biomaterials and biological interfaces