Topological linking determines elasticity in limited valence networks.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the relationship between the microscopic structure and topology of a material and its macroscopic properties is a fundamental challenge across a wide range of systems. Here we investigate the viscoelasticity of DNA nanostar hydrogels-a model system for physical networks with limited valence-by coupling rheology measurements, confocal imaging and molecular dynamics simulations. We discover that these networks display a large degree of interpenetration and that loops within the network are topologically linked, forming a percolating network-within-network structure. Below the overlapping concentration, the fraction of branching points and the pore size determine the high-frequency elasticity of these physical gels. At higher concentrations, we discover that this elastic respons

SUBMITTER: Palombo G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11879876 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature