| Biopolymers have evolved to function in crowded and confined environments of a cell. The statistical properties of these confined biopolymers are strongly affected by competitions among their intrinsic physical properties such as self-avoidance, elasticity and the confining effects.;In this thesis, I aim at understanding the static and dynamic properties of biopolymers in confined spaces using a combination of simulations and analytic techniques. For the statics of semiflexible polymers, a shape transition is observed when the stiffness increases and many interesting phenomena associated with this transition have been investigated by a mean-field model. I also study polymer segregation in a closed geometry. Combining scaling theory, stochastic methods and Monte Carlo simulations, I have shown the existence of a transition from spontaneous segregation to mixing with changes of confining conditions. The segregation time scale is investigated by solving a first-passage time problem. The applications of my predictions are also addressed. |
