Unfolding times for proteins in a force clamp

Details Unfolding times for proteins in a force clamp Unfolding times for proteins in a force clamp

2009-09-14

arxiv.org/abs/0909.2500v1

Phys. Rev. E 81, 010902(R) (2010)

Physics

Condensed Matter

Statistical Mechanics

6 pages, 4 figures, submitted for pubblication to Physical Review Letters

Scientific paper

10.1103/PhysRevE.81.010902

The escape process from the native valley for proteins subjected to a constant stretching force is examined using a model for a Beta-barrel. For a wide range of forces, the unfolding dynamics can be treated as one-dimensional diffusion, parametrized in terms of the end-to-end distance. In particular, the escape times can be evaluated as first passage times for a Brownian particle moving on the protein free-energy landscape, using the Smoluchowski equation. At strong forces, the unfolding process can be viewed as a diffusive drift away from the native state, while at weak forces thermal activation is the relevant mechanism. An escape-time analysis within this approach reveals a crossover from an exponential to an inverse Gaussian escape-time distribution upon passing from weak to strong forces. Moreover, a single expression valid at weak and strong forces can be devised both for the average unfolding time as well as for the corresponding variance. The analysis offers a possible explanation of recent experimental findings for ddFLN4 and ubiquitin.

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