Dynamic force spectroscopy: analysis of reversible bond-breaking dynamics

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the dynamics of reversible bond-breaking under force, focusing on rupture force distributions, the influence of rebinding, and how external parameters affect these processes, providing insights into bond kinetics and equilibrium constants.

Contribution

It offers a detailed theoretical analysis of reversible bond rupture under force, including effects of rebinding probabilities and external parameters, advancing understanding of bond dissociation dynamics.

Findings

Rupture force depends on loading rate and potential shape.

Rebinding probabilities influence the dynamic force spectrum.

Equilibrium rupture forces can be used to determine on- and off-rate constants.

Abstract

The problem of diffusive bond-dissociation in a double well potential under application of an external force is scrutinized. We compute the probability distribution of rupture forces and present a detailed discussion of the influence of finite rebinding probabilities on the dynamic force spectrum. In particular, we focus on barrier crossing upon extension, i.e. under linearly increased load, and upon relaxation starting from completely separated bonds. For large loading rates the rupture force and the rejoining force depend on the loading rate in the expected manner determined by the shape of the potential. For small loading rates the mean forces obtained from pull and relax modes approach each other as the system reaches equilibrium. We investigate the dependence of the rupture force distributions and mean rupture forces on external parameters like cantilever stiffness and influence of a soft linker. We find that depending on the implementation of a soft linker the equilibrium rupture force is either unaffected by the presence of the linker or changes in a predictable way with the linker-compliance. Additionally, we show that it is possible to extract the equilibrium constant of the on- and off-rates from the determination of the equilibrium rupture forces.