ABSTRACT
Hopping Transition Dynamics .......................................................... 139 5.5Folding Dynamics on Force Quench ............................................................ 141 5.6Concluding Remarks .................................................................................... 143 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 144 References .............................................................................................................. 144
The advent of single-molecule (SM) techniques over the past decades has brought asignišcant impact on the studies of biological systems [1-3]. The spatial and temporalresolutions and agood force control achieved in SM techniques have been used to decipher the microscopic basis of self-assembly processes in biology. Among SM techniques, single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is adapted not only to stretch biopolymers [4,5] but also to unravel the internal structures and functions of many proteins and nucleic acids [6-10]. By precisely restricting the initial and šnal conformations onto specišc regions of the energy landscape, SMFS also provided a way to probe the collapse or folding dynamics under mechanical control, which fundamentallydiffers from those under temperature or denaturant control [11,12]. The observables that are usually inaccessible with conventional bulk experiments, for instance, the heterogeneity of dynamic trajectories and intermediate state ensembles, have been measured to provide glimpses of the topography of complex folding landscapes[7,13]. Furthermore, the use of SMFS is being extended to study the function of biological motors [14-20] and cells [21].
