Scaling Theory for Driven Polymer Translocation through a Double Nanopore

Abstract

Abstract We study DNA translocation through a double nanopore system subject to a net bias using Brownian dynamics simulation on a model system. We consider the limit dLR < < L, where dLR is the distance between the pores and L = Nσ is the contour length of the chain consisting of N monomers of diameter σ. In this limit, we generalize a scaling ansatz for the mean first passage time, originally proposed for the driven translocation through a single nanopore, for the double nanopore system and demonstrate its validity using simulation data. The simulation data enables us to extract the pore friction as a function of the chain stiffness. The method can be used to determine the mean first passage time 〈τ〉 for longer chains difficult to extract from BD simulation.