Theoretical Study of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Translocation

Typically, translocation -- the movement of polymers or particles from one region through a channel into another -- is studied by observing changes in ionic current through the channel as a function of time. As the particle moves through the channel, blockage of the pore results in a decrease in the current. Here, we combine self-consistent field theory (SCFT) and Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) theory to investigate the translocation of both bare and polymer-grafted nanoparticles as a function of the ratio of channel diameter to nanoparticle diameter, polymer grafting density, and electric field strength by computing the expected ionic current traces that would be observed experimentally.