Life time of catch bond clusters

We consider the mean lifetime of adhesion clusters under a constant applied force and discuss in details different approximate solutions of this problem focusing on catch bond clusters. The analytical equation for the lifetime is derived that is accurate for a broad range of cluster parameters. A scaling equation for the variation of the cluster lifetime with the total number of available bonds is presented that holds already for relatively small clusters. While we focus on consideration of catch bond clusters, the derived equations are applicable also for description of lifetime of clusters including standard slip bonds.