Competition between condensation of monovalent and multivalent ions in DNA aggregation

We discuss the distribution of ions around highly charged PEs when there is competition between monovalent and multivalent ions, pointing out that in this case the number of condensed ions is sensitive to short-range interactions, salt and model-dependent approximations. This sensitivity is discussed in the context of recent experiments on DNA aggregation, induced by multivalent counterions such as spermine and spermidine. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.