Abstract
The conformation of circular DNA molecules of various lengths adsorbed in a 2D conformation on a mica surface is studied. The results confirm the conjecture that the critical exponent is topologically invariant and equal to the self-avoiding walk value (in the present case ), and that the topology and dimensionality of the system strongly influence the crossover between the rigid regime and the self-avoiding regime at a scale . Additionally, the bond correlation function scales with the molecular length as predicted. For molecular lengths , circular DNA behaves like a stiff molecule with an approximately elliptic shape.
- Received 2 June 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.148103
©2008 American Physical Society