Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 5, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6539
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Funding
- German Research Foundation DFG [VA 689/3-1]
- IMPRS-SURMAT
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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. Macroscopic equilibrium measurements scale linearly with the number density of interfacial bonds, providing acid-amine interaction energies of 10.9 +/- 0.2 kT. Irrespective of how far from equilibrium single-molecule experiments are performed, the Jarzynski's free energy converges to 11 +/- 1 kT. Our results validate the applicability of Jarzynski's equality to unravel the scaling of non-equilibrium single-molecule experiments to scenarios where large numbers of molecules interacts simultaneously in equilibrium. The developed scaling strategy predicts large-scale properties such as adhesion or cell-cell interactions on the basis of single-molecule measurements.
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