Unveiling the influence of device stiffness in single macromolecule unfolding

TL;DR

This paper develops an analytical model to understand how device stiffness affects single-molecule unfolding experiments, improving interpretation accuracy in force spectroscopy studies.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new analytical model that accurately predicts the influence of device stiffness on experimental outcomes in single-molecule force spectroscopy.

Findings

Model agrees with previous numerical results

Reproduces AFM experimental tests on titin and P-selectin

Highlights importance of device stiffness in data interpretation

Abstract

Single-molecule stretching experiments on DNA, RNA, and other biological macromolecules opened up the possibility of an impressive progress in many fields of Life and Medical sciences. The reliability of such experiments may be crucially limited by the possibility of determining the influence of the apparatus on the experimental outputs. Here we deduce an analytical model that we show to be coherent with previous numerical results and that quantitively reproduce AFM experimental tests on titin macromolecules and P-selectin AFM experiments with variable probe stiffnesses. We believe that the obtained analytical description can represent an important step forward in the interpretation of Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy experiments and intermolecular interactions phenomena.