%0 Journal Article
%T Do quantum effects hold together DNA condensates?
%A Alfredo Iorio
%A Samik Sen
%A Siddhartha Sen
%J Quantitative Biology
%D 2008
%I arXiv
%X The classical electrostatic interaction between DNA molecules in water in the presence of counterions is reconsidered and we propose it is governed by a modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation. Quantum fluctuations are then studied and shown to lead to a vacuum interaction that is numerically computed for several configurations of many DNA strands and found to be strongly many-body. This Casimir vacuum interaction can be the ``glue'' holding together DNA molecules into aggregates.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/0806.3130v1