Hydrodynamic properties of macromolecular complexes. I. Translation

Abstract

Abstract We have developed an improved theory for calculating the translational frictional coefficients of rigid macromolecular complexes composed of unequal spherical subunits. The Yamakawa hydrodynamic interaction tensor, which improves on the Oseen tensor by taking account of the finite sizes of the frictional subunits, has been generalized to accomodate nonidentical subunits. Iterative numerical methods are described for solving the set of simultaneous hydrodynamic interaction equations, thus avoiding preaveraging. The theory is applied to prolate ellipsoids of revolution, to lollipops, and to dumbbells, and comparison is made with earlier, more approximate theories.