posted on 2022-01-24, 15:39authored byMarc Rico-Pasto, Anna Alemany, Felix Ritort
Most single-molecule studies derive
the kinetic rates of native,
intermediate, and unfolded states from equilibrium hopping experiments.
Here, we apply the Kramers kinetic diffusive model to derive the force-dependent
kinetic rates of intermediate states from nonequilibrium pulling experiments.
From the kinetic rates, we also extract the force-dependent kinetic
barriers and the equilibrium folding energies. We apply our method
to DNA hairpins with multiple folding pathways and intermediates.
The experimental results agree with theoretical predictions. Furthermore,
the proposed nonequilibrium single-molecule approach permits us to
characterize kinetic and thermodynamic properties of native, unfolded,
and intermediate states that cannot be derived from equilibrium hopping
experiments.