| Descript |
87 p |
| Note |
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-01, Section: B, page: 0592 |
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Adviser: Erik Luijten |
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009 |
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In this dissertation I present my research into the phase behavior of multicomponent soft matter mixtures. This research has entailed the use of a wide variety of computational techniques, to disentangle and understand the complex behavior of systems with large disparities in the size and charge of the components. More specifically, I study the phenomenon of polyelectrolyte condensation, the conformations of flexible block polyampholytes, and the phase behavior of binary mixtures of hard disks |
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In Chapter 2 I examine the biologically important complexation of F-actin, an anionic polyelectrolyte, and lysozyme, a cationic globular protein. F-actin is a rod-like molecule that assembles into a compact bundle in the presence of lysozyme. I use simulations to elucidate the distribution of lysozyme within the bundle, and to evaluate the stability of the bundle under various conditions. Chapter 3 presents a detailed analysis of a more generic model for polyelectrolyte condensation. I use this model to reconcile several experimental observations, and to predict a novel bundle structure for linear condensing agents |
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In Chapter 4 I study the effect of multivalent salt on the conformations of a block polyampholyte, and I also present an analysis of the dependence of block polyampholyte conformations on the degree of polymerization and on the charge distribution |
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Finally, Chapter 5 treats the phase behavior of both additive and non-additive binary hard disk fluid mixtures, for very large size asymmetries. Using a systematic extrapolation in the non-additivity parameter I have been able to resolve the long-standing issue of fluid-fluid phase separation in the additive system |
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School code: 0090 |
| Host Item |
Dissertation Abstracts International 71-01B
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| Subject |
Physics, Condensed Matter
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Engineering, Materials Science
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0611
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0794
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| Alt Author |
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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