Equilibrium unfolding

In biochemistry, equilibrium unfolding is the process of unfolding a protein or RNA molecule by gradually changing its environment, such as by changing the temperature or pressure, adding chemical denaturants, or applying force as with an atomic force microscope tip. Since equilibrium is maintained at all steps, the process is reversible (equilibrium folding). Equilibrium unfolding is used to determine the conformational stability of the molecule.