Femtonewton force spectroscopy of single extended DNA molecules

Phys Rev Lett. 2000 May 22;84(21):5014-7. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.5014.

Abstract

We studied the thermal fluctuations of single DNA molecules with a novel optical tweezer based force spectroscopy technique. This technique combines femtonewton sensitivity with millisecond time resolution, surpassing the sensitivity of previous force measurements in aqueous solution with comparable bandwidth by a hundredfold. Our data resolve long-standing questions concerning internal hydrodynamics of the polymer and anisotropy in the molecular relaxation times and friction coefficients. The dynamics at high extension show interesting nonlinear behavior.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force

Substances

  • DNA