Viruses self-assemble from identical capsid proteins and their genome consisting, for example, of a long single stranded (ss) RNA. For a big class of T=3 viruses, capsid proteins have long positive N-terminal tails. We explore the role played by the Coulomb interaction between the brush of...

Complexation of a polyelectrolyte with an oppositely charged spherical macroion is studied for both salt-free and salty solutions. When a polyelectrolyte winds around the macroion, its turns repel each other and form an almost equidistant solenoid. It is shown that this repulsive correlations of...

We argue that it is the hopping transport that is responsible for broadening of the σxx peaks. Explicit expressions for the width Δν of a peak as a function of the temperature T, current J and frequency ω are found. It is shown that Δν grows with T as (T/T1)κ, where κ is the inverse...

We study a solution of long polyanions (PA) with shorter polycations (PC) and focus on the role of Coulomb interaction. A good example is solutions of DNA and PC which are widely studied for gene therapy. In the solution, each PA attracts many PCs to form a complex. When the ratio of total...

We suggest to augment standard isoelectric focusing for separation of proteins in a gradient of pH by a similar focusing in the presence of a strongly charged polyelectrolyte (PE). Proteins which have the same isoelectric point but different “hidden” charges of both signs in this point make...

Charge inversion of a DNA double helix by an oppositely charged flexible polyelectrolyte (PE) is widely used for gene delivery. It is considered here taking into account the discreteness of the charges of DNA. We concentrate on the worst scenario case when in the neutral state of the DNA-PE...

In a recent experiment, a single DNA double helix is stretched and relaxed in the presence of spermidine, a short positive polyelectrolyte, and the pulling force is measured as a function of DNA extension. In a certain range of spermidine concentration, a force plateau appears whose value shows...

We consider a class of systems where, due to the large mismatch of dielectric constants, the Coulomb interaction is approximately one-dimensional. Examples include ion channels in lipid membranes and water filled nanopores in silicon films. Charge transport across such systems possesses the...