A Diffusion-Based Approach for Nanobead Drag Forces Available to Purchase

A central process of the Bead ARray Counter (BARC) biosensor involves propelling a dilute solution of streptavidin-coated micron-scale beads through water. It is desirable to downsize these beads, leading to a basic engineering problem: What is the drag force acting on a nanoscale bead having an unknown hydrodynamic boundary condition? We use molecular dynamics simulation to estimate the drag force acting on a hypothetical biosensor “nanobead” without assuming a no-slip condition or a user-supplied slip parameter.