unbinding

Unbinding is the act or process of releasing something that was bound, attached, or constrained. The term is used across disciplines to describe the reversal of binding, from physical separation to abstract dissociation, and can refer to both literal and figurative forms of separation.

In physics and chemistry, unbinding often describes the transition from a bound state to an unbound state. In quantum mechanics, bound states occur when particles are confined by a potential; unbinding happens when sufficient energy overcomes the binding energy, producing unbound or scattering states. The energy required for separation is called the binding energy. For example, a particle bound in a nucleus may become unbound and escape if an external energy input exceeds the threshold. In chemistry and materials science, dissociation or debinding describes the breaking of chemical bonds or the removal of a binder from a material; debinding is a standard term in ceramic and powder metallurgy processing.

In biochemistry and pharmacology, unbinding refers to the dissociation of a ligand from its receptor. The rate of unbinding is described by the rate constant k_off, and the affinity by the dissociation constant K_d; these parameters influence the duration and strength of a drug’s effect.

In cognitive science, the binding problem concerns how features are integrated into a single percept. Unbinding is used to describe the reverse process, where individual features are separated from a bound representation, or how previously bound information may be deconvolved in certain cognitive models.