Translocation of stiff polymers through a nanopore driven by binding particles

We investigate the translocation of stiff polymers in the presence of binding particles through a nanopore by two-dimensional Langevin dynamics simulations. We find that the mean translocation time shows a minimum as a function of the binding energy epsilon and the particle concentration phi, due to the interplay of the force from binding and the frictional force. Particularly, for the strong binding the translocation proceeds with a decreasing translocation velocity induced by a significant increase of the frictional force. In addition, both epsilon and phi have a notable impact on the distribution of the translocation time. With increasing epsilon and phi, it undergoes a transition from an asymmetric and broad distribution under the weak binding to a nearly Gaussian one under the strong binding, and its width becomes gradually narrower. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4772658]