Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026

A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA
Published on: October 1, 2017
Stretching of proteins in a uniform flow
1Institute of Theoretical Physics, Warsaw University, ulica Hoza 69, 00-681 Warsaw, Poland. piotrek@fuw.edu.pl
Abstract:
Stretching of a protein by a fluid flow is compared to that in a force-clamp apparatus. The comparison is made within a simple topology-based dynamical model of a protein in which the effects of the flow are implemented using Langevin dynamics. We demonstrate that unfolding induced by a uniform flow shows a richer behavior than that in the force clamp. The dynamics of unfolding is found to depend strongly on the selection of the amino acid, usually one of the termini, which is anchored. These features offer potentially wider diagnostic tools to investigate structure of proteins compared to experiments based on the atomic force microscopy.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanical Protein Functions
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Actin Treadmilling
Thermal Strain
Strain Energy
Consider a rod that is fixed at one end and subjected to an axial force at the free end. This axial force induces stress within the rod, leading to its elongation. As the axial force increases, so does the elongation of the rod, illustrating a direct relationship between the force applied and the resulting...

