REVIEW: Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Mechanical Unfolding of Different Proteins

---

A. V. Glyakina¹, N. K. Balabaev¹, and O. V. Galzitskaya^2*

¹Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Institutskaya 4, 142290 Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia

²Institute of Protein Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Institutskaya 4, 142290 Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia; fax: 7 (496) 731-8435; E-mail: ogalzit@vega.protres.ru

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received May 22, 2013; Revision received July 17, 2013

---

Mechanical properties of proteins are important for a wide range of biological processes including cell adhesion, muscle contraction, and protein translocation across biological membranes. It is necessary to reveal how proteins achieve their required mechanical stability under natural conditions in order to understand the biological processes and also to use the knowledge for constructing new biomaterials for medical and industrial purposes. In this connection, it is important to know how a protein will behave in response to various impacts. Theoretical and experimental works on mechanical unfolding of globular proteins will be considered in detail in this review.

---

KEY WORDS: stability, protein, atomic force microscope, denaturant

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297913110023

---