Hierarchical Knot Formation of Semiflexible Filaments Driven by Hydrodynamics

Lucas H. P. Cunha; Luca Tubiana; Sibani L. Biswal; Fred C. MacKintosh

doi:10.1103/z7jb-fvjl

Hierarchical Knot Formation of Semiflexible Filaments Driven by Hydrodynamics

Lucas H. P. Cunha ^1,2,3,*, Luca Tubiana ^4,5, Sibani L. Biswal ^1,†, and Fred C. MacKintosh ^1,2,6,7,‡

¹Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
²Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
³Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
⁴Physics Department, University of Trento, via Sommarive 14, 38123 Trento, Italy
⁵INFN-TIFPA, Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, via Sommarive 14, 38123 Trento, Italy
⁶Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
⁷Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA

^*Contact author: lh1063@georgetown.edu
^†Contact author: biswal@rice.edu
^‡Contact author: fcmack@rice.edu

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 248201 – Published 12 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/z7jb-fvjl

Abstract

The spontaneous formation of knots in semiflexible filaments is not only a fundamental aspect of polymer physics but also plays a crucial role in biological systems, where DNA, proteins, and other macromolecules exhibit complex knotting behavior. From Brownian dynamics simulations, we examine the sedimentation of semiflexible filaments under strong fields. We show how hydrodynamics induce knotting dynamics and stabilization into tight knotted configurations. Controlling the knotting of semiflexible filaments presents opportunities to create materials with unique structural properties.

Physical Review Letters

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Hierarchical Knot Formation of Semiflexible Filaments Driven by Hydrodynamics

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Hierarchical Knot Formation of Semiflexible Filaments Driven by Hydrodynamics

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