Session V15: Focus Session: Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics of Small Systems
11:15 AM–1:39 PM, Thursday, March 8, 2007
Colorado Convention Center Room: Korbel 4E
Sponsoring Units:
GSNP DBP
Chair: R. Dean Astumian, University of Maine
Abstract ID: BAPS.2007.MAR.V15.10
Abstract: V15.00010 : Free Energy Surface Reconstruction Using Jarzynski's Equality
1:27 PM–1:39 PM
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Abstract
Authors:
Ching-Hwa Kiang
(Department of Physics \& Astronomy, Rice University)
Nolan Harris
(Department of Physics \& Astronomy, Rice University)
Atomic force microscope was used to manipulate and unfold individual molecules of the muscle protein titin. We reconstructed the free energy surface of stretching and unfolding of titin I27 domain using Jarzynski's equality. An exact formula that relates the nonequilibrium work fluctuations to the molecular free energy was used for the reconstruction. From the free energy surface, the unfolding free energy barrier, i.e. the activation energy, was directly obtained from experimental data for the first time.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2007.MAR.V15.10