The collapse of the bubble induced by the shock wave leads to nano-jet, which is able to perforate cellular membranes. This phenomenon is investigated by Martini coarse-grained molecular dynamic (CG-MD) simulations in the present study. It is found that the occurrence of cavitation nucleation at the nanoscale can be observed during the perforation process. The cavitation locates near the puncture of the cell membrane and its ultimate evolutionary form presents a ring-like structure. The volume of the cavitation is calculated for different initial bubble sizes, and it is found that the maximum volume of the cavitation area has a correlation with the initial bubble size. To understand the underlying physics of the cavitation phenomenon, the classical nucleation theory based on the Rayleigh-Plesset equation is applied to the non-equilibrium nanoscale system after the pressure field is obtained by using the Irving-Kirkwood-Noll procedure. The consistence between the results of CG-MD and the theory reveals that the average pressure of the local environment plays a crucial role in cavitation occurrence on the non-equilibrium system subjected to strong inertia, e.g., shock wave and nano-jet.
Using the method of Laplace transform, an analytical solution of unsteady rotating electroosmotic flow (EOF) through a parallel plate microchannel is presented. The analysis is based upon the linearized Poisson-Boltzmann equation describing electrical potential distribution and the Navies Stokes equation representing flow field in the rotating coordinate system. The discrepancy of present problem from classical EOF is that the velocity fields are two-dimensional. The rotating EOF velocity profile and flow rate greatly depend on time t, rotating parameter ω and the electrokinetic width K (ratio of half height of microchannel to thickness of electric double layer). The influence of the above dimensionless parameters on transient EOF velocity, volume flow rate and EO spiral is investigated.
As a major genetic material, the configuration and the mechanical properties of a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecule in confinement are crucial for the application of nanotechnology and biological engineering. In the present paper, molecular dynamics simulation is utilized to study the configuration of dsDNA in a nanodroplet on a graphene substrate. The results show that the semiflexible dsDNA molecule changes its configuration with radius of gyration ( R) of a few nanometers because of the confined space, that is, the R of the dsDNA molecule decreases with the reduction of the nanodroplet size. In comparison, the dsDNA in the bulk usually has a persistent length of tens of nanometers. Especially, if the nanodroplet is small enough, the dsDNA molecule might form a loop structure inside. The dsDNA molecule affects the wetting properties of the graphene substrate. It is found that the graphene becomes more hydrophilic in smaller systems containing the dsDNA molecule, whereas for larger droplets, the changes of the contact angles are not significant with the presence of dsDNA. Moreover, the results indicate that for larger droplets, the line tension of the droplet containing DNA is positive and greater than that without DNA; for smaller droplets, the line tension becomes negative because the dsDNA is compressed and bent in the confinement, and has the potential to expand outwards. The worm-like chain model is used to study the bending energy of a dsDNA molecule in a droplet. The results address that the bending energy of the non-loop-structured dsDNA decreases as the droplet becomes larger, and it is larger than that of loop-structured dsDNA, as the loop structure efficiently prevents the DNA from bending in the vertical direction.
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