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Following Single Molecules by Force Spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Dudko Olga K.,
Filippov Alexander E.,
Klafter Joseph,
Urbakh Michael
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1560/tbv9-439h-6u1d-1bdx
Subject(s) - force spectroscopy , chemistry , molecule , spring (device) , spectroscopy , asymmetry , mechanics , molecular physics , chemical physics , physics , thermodynamics , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry
Dynamic force spectroscopy of single molecules, in which an adhesion bond is driven away from equilibrium by a spring pulled with velocity V , is described by a model that predicts the distribution of rupture forces (mean and variance), all amenable to experimental tests. The distribution has a pronounced asymmetry, which has recently been observed experimentally. The mean rupture force follows a (ln V ) 2/3 dependence on the pulling velocity and differs from earlier predictions. Interestingly, at low pulling velocities a rebinding process is observed whose signature is an intermittent behavior of the spring force that delays the rupture. Based on the rupture mechanism, we propose a new “pick‐up‐and‐put‐down” method to manipulate individual molecules with scanning probes. We demonstrate that the number of molecules picked up by the tip and deposited at a different location can be controlled by adjusting the pulling velocity of the tip and the distance of closest approach of the tip to the surface.