Related papers: Mechanically probing the folding pathway of single…
We describe quantitatively a RNA molecule under the influence of an external force exerted at its two ends as in a typical single-molecule experiment. Our calculation incorporates the interactions between nucleotides by using the…
Exact numerical methods and stochastic simulation methods are developed to study the force stretching single RNA issue on the secondary structure level in equilibrium. By computing the force-extension curves on the constant force and the…
We summarize the recent simulation progress of micromanipulation experiments on RNAs. Our work mainly consults with two important small RNAs unfolding experiments carried out by Bustamante group. Our results show that, in contrast to…
RNA secondary structures of increasing complexity are probed combining single molecule stretching experiments and stochastic unfolding/refolding simulations. We find that force-induced unfolding pathways cannot usually be interpretated by…
We review the basic concepts and tools for mechanically unzipping RNA hairpins using force spectroscopy. By pulling apart the ends of an RNA molecule using optical tweezers, it is possible to measure the folding free energy at varying…
The mechanical unfolding of a simple RNA hairpin and of a 236--bases portion of the Tetrahymena thermophila ribozyme is studied by means of an Ising--like model. Phase diagrams and free energy landscapes are computed exactly and suggest a…
Using force as a probe to map the folding landscapes of RNA molecules has become a reality thanks to major advances in single molecule pulling experiments. Although the unfolding pathways under tension are complicated to predict studies in…
Mechanical unfolding of RNA structures, ranging from hairpins to ribozymes, using laser optical tweezer (LOT) experiments have begun to reveal the features of the energy landscape that cannot be easily explored using conventional…
By exerting mechanical force it is possible to unfold/refold RNA molecules one at a time. In a small range of forces, an RNA molecule can hop between the folded and the unfolded state with force-dependent kinetic rates. Here, we introduce a…
Using a combination of theory and computer simulations, we study the translocation of an RNA molecule, pulled through a solid-state nanopore by an optical tweezer, as a method to determine its secondary structure. The resolution with which…
Recent single-molecule pulling experiments have shown how it is possible to manipulate RNA molecules using optical tweezers force microscopy. We investigate a minimal model for the experimental setup which includes a RNA molecule connected…
We analyze the thermodynamic properties of a simplified model for folded RNA molecules recently studied by G. Vernizzi, H. Orland, A. Zee (in {\it Phys. Rev. Lett.} {\bf 94} (2005) 168103). The model consists of a chain of one-flavor base…
RNA folding is a kinetic process governed by the competition of a large number of structures stabilized by the transient formation of base pairs that may induce complex folding pathways and the formation of misfolded structures. Despite of…
Single-molecule experiments provide new insights into biological processes hitherto not accessible by measurements performed on bulk systems. We report on a study of the kinetics of a triple-branch DNA molecule with four conformational…
The remarkable accuracy and versatility of single-molecule techniques make possible new measurements that are not feasible in bulk assays. Among these, the precise estimation of folding free energies using fluctuation theorems in…
Time-resolved single-molecule biophysical experiments yield data that contain a wealth of dynamic information, in addition to the equilibrium distributions derived from histograms of the time series. In typical force spectroscopic setups…
Most single-molecule studies derive the kinetic rates of native, intermediate, and unfolded states from equilibrium hopping experiments. Here, we apply Kramers kinetic diffusive model to derive the force-dependent kinetic rates of…
Detecting conformational transitions in molecular systems is key to understanding biological processes. Here, we investigate the force variance in single-molecule pulling experiments as an indicator of molecular folding transitions. We…
We study the force-induced unfolding of random disordered RNA or single-stranded DNA polymers. The system undergoes a second order phase transition from a collapsed globular phase at low forces to an extensive necklace phase with a…
Using coarse-grained model we have explored forced-unfolding of RNA hairpin as a function of $f_S$ and the loading rate ($r_f$). The simulations and theoretical analysis have been done without and with the handles that are explicitly…