The electric field
driven translocation of charged star polymers
through a cylindrical nanopore has been studied using dissipative
particle dynamics simulations. The critical field strength required
to induce translocation depends on both the number of arms and the
number of beads per arm. It may therefore be possible to separate
star polyelectrolytes of different arm lengths using electric field
driven translocation through a nanopore. The average translocation
time exhibits nonmonotonic variation with the number of arms for good
solvent conditions. During translocation, a star polymer with many
arms is stretched along the pore axis to a lesser extent as compared
to its linear counterpart. Unlike a linear chain that shows tension
propagation with large tensions for bonds about to enter the pore,
a star has the tensest bonds closest to the branch point whose connectivity
to multiple arms raises difficulty for its entry and passage.
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