@misc{10481/81613,
year = {2023},
month = {4},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/81613},
abstract = {Macromolecular crowding typically applies to biomolecular and polymer-based systems in which the
individual particles often feature a two-state folded/unfolded or coil-to-globule transition, such as found
for proteins and peptides, DNA and RNA, or supramolecular polymers. Here, we employ a mean-field
density functional theory (DFT) of a model of soft and bistable responsive colloids (RCs) in which the
size of the macromolecule is explicitly resolved as a degree of freedom living in a bimodal ‘Landau’
energy landscape (exhibiting big and small states), thus directly responding to the crowding
environment. Using this RC-DFT we study the effects of self-crowding on the liquid bulk structure and
thermodynamics for different energy barriers and softnesses of the bimodal energy landscape, in
conditions close to the coil-to-globule transition. We find substantial crowding effects on the internal
distributions, a complex polydispersity behavior, and quasi-universal compression curves for increasing
(generalized) packing fractions. Moreover, we uncover distinct signatures of bimodal versus unimodal
behavior in the particle compression. Finally, the analysis of the pair structure – derived from the test
particle route – reveals that the microstructure of the liquid is quite inhomogeneous due to local depletion
effects, tuneable by particle softness.},
organization = {Junta de Andalucia},
organization = {European Regional Development Fund - Consejeria de Conocimiento, Investigacion y Universidad, Junta de Andalucia	PY20-00241
A-FQM-90-UGR20},
organization = {Plan Propio of the University of Granada	PPVS2018-08},
publisher = {Royal Society Of Chemistry},
title = {Liquid structure of bistable responsive macromolecules using mean-field density-functional theory},
doi = {10.1039/d2sm01523d},
author = {Moncho Jordá, Arturo and Göth, Nils and Dzubiella, Joachim},
}