Related papers: Rupture of multiple parallel molecular bonds under…
Heterogeneity in biological molecules, resulting in molecule-to-molecule variations in their dynamics and function, is an emerging theme. To elucidate the consequences of heterogeneous behavior at the single molecule level, we propose an…
The transition from static to dynamic friction when an elastic body is slid over another is now known to result from the motion of interface rupture fronts. These fronts may be either crack-like or pulse-like, with the latter involving…
We investigate numerically the dynamical behaviour of a polymer chain collapsing in a dilute solution. The rate of collapse is measured with and without the presence of hydrodynamic interactions. We find that hydrodynamic interactions both…
We extend the Bell forced dissociation rate model to take account into dynamic disorder. The motivation of the present work is from the recent forced dissociation experiments of the adhesive receptor-ligand complexes, in which some…
A continuum mechanical model of coupled dislocation based plasticity and fracture at finite deformation is proposed. Motivating questions and target applications of the model are sketched.
Multivalent associative proteins with strong complementary interactions play a crucial role in phase separation of intracellular liquid condensates. We study the internal dynamics of such "bond-network" condensates comprised of two…
We carry out uniaxial continuous and step stretching of various crosslinked polymer networks to demonstrate how characteristics of rupture (from continuous stretching) and delayed rupture (from step stretching) can be used to probe the…
Fiber bundles with statistically distributed thresholds for breakdown of individual fibers are interesting models of the static and dynamics of failures in materials under stress. They can be analyzed to an extent that is not possible for…
The adhesion of cells is mediated by membrane receptors that bind to complementary ligands in apposing cell membranes. It is generally assumed that the lateral diffusion of mobile receptor-ligand bonds in membrane-membrane adhesion zones is…
Breakage is generally understood in mechanical terms, yet nano-structures can rupture not only under external loads but also via thermal activation. Here we treat in a general framework the statistical mechanics of thermally induced…
The adhesion of biological membranes is controlled by various types of receptor and ligand molecules. In this letter, we present a statistical-mechanical model for membranes that interact via receptor/ligand bonds of two different lengths.…
Electronic-vibrational coupling in single-molecule junctions may result in current-induced bond rupture and is thus an important mechanism for the stability of molecular junctions. We use the hierarchical quantum master equation (HQME)…
Understanding cellular response to mechanical forces is immensely important for a plethora of biological processes. Focal adhesions are multi-molecular protein assemblies that connect the cell to the extracellular matrix and play a pivotal…
We consider mechanically generated molecular braids composed of two molecules where long range interactions between them can be considered to be very weak. We describe a model that takes account of the thermal fluctuations of the braid,…
Biofilament-motor protein complexes are ubiquitous in biology and drive the transport of cargo vital for many fundamental cellular processes. As they move, motor proteins exert compressive forces on the filaments to which they are attached,…
The adhesion of cells is mediated by receptors and ligands anchored in apposing membranes. A central question is how to characterize the binding affinity of these membrane-anchored molecules. For soluble molecules, the binding affinity is…
We examine the thermally-induced fracture of an unstrained polymer chain of discrete segments coupled by an anharmonic potential by means of Molecular Dynamics simulation with a Langevin thermostat. Cases of both under- and over-damped…
We study experimentally the fracture mechanisms of a model cohesive granular medium consisting of glass beads held together by solidified polymer bridges. The elastic response of this material can be controlled by changing the cross-linking…
The dynamics of particles interacting by key-lock binding of attached biomolecules are studied theoretically. Examples of such systems include DNA-functionalized colloids as well as nanoparticles grafted with antibodies to cell membrane…
The breaking of a chemical bond is fundamental in most chemical reactions. To understand chemical processes in heterogeneous catalysis or on-surface polymerization the study of bond dissociation in molecules adsorbed on crystalline surfaces…