DNA unzipping transition

Abstract

This review focuses on the force-induced unzipping transition of double-stranded DNA. It begins with a brief history of DNA melting, which emerged alongside the growth of the field of molecular biology, juxtaposed with the advancements in physics during the same post-World War II period. The earlier theories of melting of DNA were based on the Ising model and its modifications, but gradually moved toward polymer-based models. The idea of force-induced unzipping was first introduced in 1999 as a cooperative mechanism for breaking base pairs without the need for temperature changes. The paper discusses several subsequent developments addressing different aspects of the unzipping transition.