Unfolding of RNA via Translocation Through a Nanopore

RNA unfolding and refolding are important biological phenomena occuring during RNA translation. During these processes, RNA is found in single stranded, secondary and tertiary structures which can comprise complex secondary conformations like hairpins and pseudoknots. Understanding the diverse conformations of RNA and how these influence the dynamics of unfolding and refolding is crucial to gain insight of fundamental biological processes. In this work, we employ atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to study the mechanism of unfolding when RNA is passing through a nanopore under the application of an electric field. We monitor the kinetics of unzipping of individual base pairs during the translocation event.