Tether-Length Dependence of Bias in Equilibrium Free-Energy Estimates for Surface-to-Molecule Unbinding Experiments.

The capabilities of atomic force microscopes and optical tweezers to probe unfolding or surface-to-molecule bond rupture at a single-molecular level are widely appreciated. These measurements are typically carried out unidirectionally under nonequilibrium conditions. Jarzynski's equality has proven useful to relate the work obtained along these nonequilibrium trajectories to the underlying free energy of the unfolding or unbinding process.

Unraveling Hydrophobic Interactions at the Molecular Scale Using Force Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Interactions between hydrophobic moieties steer ubiquitous processes in aqueous media, including the self-organization of biologic matter. Recent decades have seen tremendous progress in understanding these for macroscopic hydrophobic interfaces. Yet, it is still a challenge to experimentally measure hydrophobic interactions (HIs) at the single-molecule scale and thus to compare with theory.

Soft matter interactions at the molecular scale: interaction forces and energies between single hydrophobic model peptides.

In all realms of soft matter research a fundamental understanding of the structure/property relationships based on molecular interactions is crucial for developing a framework for the targeted design of soft materials. However, a molecular picture is often difficult to ascertain and yet essential for understanding the many different competing interactions at play, including entropies and cooperativities, hydration effects, and the enormous design space of soft matter. Here, we characterized for the first time the interaction between single hydrophobic molecules quantitatively using atomic force microscopy, and demonstrated that single molecular hydrophobic interaction free energies are dominated by the area of the smallest interacting hydrophobe.

Adhesive barnacle peptides exhibit a steric-driven design rule to enhance adhesion between asymmetric surfaces.

Barnacles exhibit superior underwater adhesion simply through sequencing of the 21 proteinogenic amino acids, without post processing or using special amino acids. Here, we measure and discuss the molecular interaction of two distinct and recurring short peptide sequences (Bp1 and Bp2) inspired from the surface binding 19kDa protein from the barnacle attachment interface. Using self-assembled monolayer (SAMs) of known physical and chemical properties on molecularly smooth gold substrates in 5mM NaCl at pH 7.

Resolving Non-Specific and Specific Adhesive Interactions of Catechols at Solid/Liquid Interfaces at the Molecular Scale.

The adhesive system of mussels evolved into a powerful and adaptive system with affinity to a wide range of surfaces. It is widely known that thereby 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) plays a central role. However underlying binding energies remain unknown at the single molecular scale.

How specific halide adsorption varies hydrophobic interactions.

Hydrophobic interactions (HI) are driven by the water structure around hydrophobes in aqueous electrolytes. How water structures at hydrophobic interfaces and how this influences the HI was subject to numerous studies. However, the effect of specific ion adsorption on HI and hydrophobic interfaces remains largely unexplored or controversial.

Targeted Tuning of Interactive Forces by Engineering of Molecular Bonds in Series and Parallel Using Peptide-Based Adhesives.

Polymer-mediated adhesion plays a major role for both technical glues and biological processes like self-assembly or biorecognition. In contrast to engineering systems, adhesive strength in biological systems is precisely tuned via well-adjusted arrangement of individual bonds. How adhesion may be engineered by arrangement of individual bonds is however not yet well-understood.

Direct and quantitative AFM measurements of the concentration and temperature dependence of the hydrophobic force law at nanoscopic contacts.

By virtue of its importance for self-organization of biological matter the hydrophobic force law and the range of hydrophobic interactions (HI) have been debated extensively over the last 40 years. Here, we directly measure and quantify the hydrophobic force-distance law over large temperature and concentration ranges. In particular, we study the HI between molecularly smooth hydrophobic self-assembled monolayers, and similarly modified gold-coated AFM tips (radii∼8-50 nm).

Scaling from single molecule to macroscopic adhesion at polymer/metal interfaces.

Understanding the evolution of macroscopic adhesion based on fundamental molecular interactions is crucial to designing strong and smart polymer/metal interfaces that play an important role in many industrial and biomedical applications. Here we show how macroscopic adhesion can be predicted on the basis of single molecular interactions. In particular, we carry out dynamic single molecule-force spectroscopy (SM-AFM) in the framework of Bell-Evans' theory to gain information about the energy barrier between the bound and unbound states of an amine/gold junction.

Deciphering the scaling of single-molecule interactions using Jarzynski's equality.

Unravelling the complexity of the macroscopic world relies on understanding the scaling of single-molecule interactions towards integral macroscopic interactions. Here, we demonstrate the scaling of single acid-amine interactions through a synergistic experimental approach combining macroscopic surface forces apparatus experiments and single-molecule force spectroscopy. This experimental framework is ideal for testing the well-renowned Jarzynski's equality, which relates work performed under non-equilibrium conditions with equilibrium free energy.