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Updated: May 2, 2026

Molecular Spring Constant Analysis by Biomembrane Force Probe Spectroscopy
Published on: November 20, 2021
Predicted rupture force of a single molecular bond becomes rate independent at ultralow loading rates
1Biomechanics and Biomaterials Laboratory, Department of Applied Mechanics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
Abstract:
We present for the first time a theoretical model of studying the saturation of the rupture force of a single molecular bond that causes the rupture force to be rate independent under an ultralow loading rate. This saturation will obviously bring challenges to understanding the rupture behavior of the molecular bond using conventional methods. This intriguing feature implies that the molecular bond has a nonzero strength at a vanishing loading rate. We find that the saturation behavior is caused by bond rebinding when the loading rate is lower than a limiting value depending on the loading stiffness.
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