화학공학소재연구정보센터
Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.299, 265-275, 1997
Weak Chirality in Ordered DNA Phases
Recent experiments(1) on aligned DNA show hexatic order with no sign of macroscopic chirality. I make the analogy between smectic liquid crystals and chiral hexatics and show how the absence of chirality cannot occur in a thermodynamic phase of chiral molecules. In addition, I discuss the microscopic origin of chiral mesophases in liquid crystals and show that, within the context of central forces between "atoms" on "molecules", chiral interactions can occur only if there are biaxial correlations between the mesogens. Weak biaxial correlations can therefore lead to small cholesteric pitches.