Hopping around an entropic barrier created by force.

ABSTRACT: We use Langevin dynamics to investigate the role played by the recently discovered force-induced entropic energy barrier on the two-state hopping phenomena that has been observed in single RNA, DNA and protein molecules placed under a stretching force. Simple considerations about the free energy of a molecule readily show that the application of force introduces an entropic barrier separating the collapsed state of the molecule, from a force-driven extended conformation. A notable characteristic of the force induced barrier is its long distances to transition state, up to tens of nanometers, which renders the kinetics of crossing this barrier highly sensitive to an applied force. Langevin dynamics across such force induced barriers readily demonstrates the hopping behavior observed for a v

SUBMITTER: Berkovich R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3028437 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature