Hydrodynamic-Induced Conformational Transitions of Charged Macromolecules Dictate Anomalous Electroosmotic Flow

Hydrodynamic-Induced Conformational Transitions of Charged Macromolecules Dictate Anomalous Electroosmotic Flow | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Hydrodynamic-Induced Conformational Transitions of Charged Macromolecules Dictate Anomalous Electroosmotic Flow Minglun Li, Kuo Chen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9170336/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The transport of charged macromolecules through nanoconfined spaces is a fundamental phenomenon governing diverse cross-disciplinary systems, from biological viral packaging and cellular transport to artificial neuromorphic membranes and electrokinetic energy converters. Classically, translocating macromolecules are assumed to act as static steric barriers that passively impede local fluid transport, predictably suppressing electroosmotic flow (EOF). In this work, by coupling dissipative particle dynamics with continuum numerical modeling, we reveal a fundamentally distinct electro-hydrodynamic regime that breaks this universally applied steric exclusion paradigm. The results show that under extreme spatial confinement, negatively charged macromolecules trigger an anomalous, non-monotonic EOF enhancement. According to traditional understanding, significant steric blockage should severely diminish flow. However, we find that substantial macromolecular occlusion actually generates an emergent ''M-shaped'' velocity profile with remarkably high EOF velocities. This counterintuitive transport is driven by a dynamic, flow-induced conformational transition: intense localized shear gradients from the M-shaped profile force the extended macromolecule to collapse into a highly folded state, effectively circumventing the anticipated hydrodynamic resistance. Positively charged macromolecules undergo wall-adhering migration that strictly dampens the flow. Our unified mechanistic framework linking dynamic macromolecular conformation to non-linear fluidic modulation provides broad physical insights, establishing robust design principles for active soft-matter systems, stimuli-responsive smart nanofluidics, and high-precision electrokinetic sensors. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Polymer chemistry Physical sciences/Chemistry/Theoretical chemistry Charged Macromolecules Nanopore Electroosmotic Flow Electrophoresis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files supporting.pdf Supporting Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9170336","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":609141657,"identity":"0a46b0a4-afc3-4df1-85e6-7ad0be6dfc44","order_by":0,"name":"Minglun Li","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAoElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACduaGAx8YJEjRwszYcHAGyVqYeUhyl24zY+NhmxoLef4G5ocfGGruENZidpix4XDOMQnDGQfYjCUYjj0jUktugwTjBiCbAcgmUotlg4T9Bgb2byRoYWyQSNzAwEOCLQd7jkkkzzjMUyyRcIwYLcebD3/4UVNn29/evvHDhxoitCAAMxAnkKJhFIyCUTAKRgFuAAC0ajbUSjfGAQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Minglun","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":609141658,"identity":"af40fbc9-3cc3-4783-b3a4-b8a08756ecb2","order_by":1,"name":"Kuo Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Massachusetts, Amherst","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kuo","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-19 13:56:41","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9170336/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9170336/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106404147,"identity":"982f2df2-f96a-4b0e-81ae-2baf9580f1b9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 09:15:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2017835,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"snarticle.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9170336/v1_covered_5ba0cb8c-0745-4fa7-8630-320586b7751a.pdf"},{"id":105171931,"identity":"b2c568d5-063f-41b6-8af9-37f3b7f49c03","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-23 04:16:57","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":4746971,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supporting Information","description":"","filename":"supporting.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9170336/v1/6f5430184791a0a7cd09377d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Hydrodynamic-Induced Conformational Transitions of Charged Macromolecules Dictate Anomalous Electroosmotic Flow","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Charged Macromolecules, Nanopore, Electroosmotic Flow, Electrophoresis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9170336/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9170336/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The transport of charged macromolecules through nanoconfined spaces is a fundamental phenomenon governing diverse cross-disciplinary systems, from biological viral packaging and cellular transport to artificial neuromorphic membranes and electrokinetic energy converters. 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