Stretching globular polymers. I. Single chains.

We review the force-extension behavior of polymers collapsed in poor solvent, modified to include the effects of semiflexibility and considered for globules with "ordered" and "disordered" internal structures. A series of ordered globules is used as a model for the unbinding of a disordered globule beneath its glass transition and for multiple-repeat proteins such as the poly-Ig-domain titin used in atomic force microscopy studies. These single-chain results form the foundation for the treatment of cross-linked networks of globular polymers.