Langmuir, Vol.17, No.16, 5111-5117, 2001
Conformations of bridging polyelectrolytes in poor solvent: Single-chain self-consistent field calculations
We report on numerical self-consistent field (SCF) calculations on the single-chain conformation of an electrostatically charged, yet poorly soluble, flexible polymer. We find numerical evidence that a "necklace of beads" conformation is self-organized and speculate that the predicted cascade of conformational transitions can be probed via a single-chain mechanical experiment with an atomic force microscope.