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Splitting probabilities as a test of reaction coordinate choice in single-molecule experiments
John D Chodera1, Vijay S Pande
1California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. jchodera@berkeley.edu
Abstract:
To explain the observed dynamics in equilibrium single-molecule measurements of biomolecules, the experimental observable is often chosen as a putative reaction coordinate along which kinetic behavior is presumed to be governed by diffusive dynamics. Here, we invoke the splitting probability as a test of the suitability of such a proposed reaction coordinate. Comparison of the observed splitting probability with that computed from the kinetic model provides a simple test to reject poor reaction coordinates. We demonstrate this test for a force spectroscopy measurement of a DNA hairpin.
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