High Spatiotemporal-Resolution Magnetic Tweezers: Calibration and Applications for DNA Dynamics.

ABSTRACT: The observation of biological processes at the molecular scale in real time requires high spatial and temporal resolution. Magnetic tweezers are straightforward to implement, free of radiation or photodamage, and provide ample multiplexing capability, but their spatiotemporal resolution has lagged behind that of other single-molecule manipulation techniques, notably optical tweezers and AFM. Here, we present, to our knowledge, a new high-resolution magnetic tweezers apparatus. We systematically characterize the achievable spatiotemporal resolution for both incoherent and coherent light sources, different types and sizes of beads, and different types and lengths of tethered molecules. Using a bright coherent laser source for illumination and tracking at 6 kHz, we resolve 3 Å steps with a 1 

SUBMITTER: Dulin D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4656881 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature