title: Testing Landscape Theory for Biomolecular Processes with Single Molecule Fluorescence Spectroscopy.
abstract: Although Kramers' theory for diffusive barrier crossing on a 1D free energy profile plays a central role in landscape theory for complex biomolecular processes, it has not yet been rigorously tested by experiment. Here we test this 1D diffusion scenario with single molecule fluorescence measurements of DNA hairpin folding. We find an upper bound of 2.5  μs for the average transition path time, consistent with the predictions by theory with parameters determined from optical tweezer measurements.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0520, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Truex
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0520, USA.
authors.forename: Hoi Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0520, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0520, USA.
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Eaton
mesh_terms: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry*; D004058:Diffusion; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D046911:Macromolecular Substances