Blog posts

Blog posts

C-Trap^® uncovers autonomous force generation of anillin contracting actin filaments

A recent publication by Kucera et al. in Nature Communications combined TIRF assays and Optical Tweezers measurements to investigate myosin-independent actin contraction that is relevant during cytokinesis and cell division. The authors found a new mechanism showing how anillin, a non-motor actin crosslinking and scaffolding protein, substitutes for the activity…

j.yeh23 August 2021

Blog posts

Missense mutation in kinesin motor leads to faster detachment from microtubules measured by C-Trap^®

In a recent article published in Science Advances, researchers investigated the mechanical consequences of a missense mutation within a highly conserved region, P305L, in the kinesin motor family member A1 (KIF1A). By employing a single-molecule approach using the C-Trap® as well as biochemical and genetic assays, Lam et al. found…

j.yeh15 July 2021

Blog posts

Newly formed Center for Optical Bio-Manipulation at the Niels Bohr Institute now equipped with an advanced C-Trap^® system

We’re overjoyed to announce the placement of one of our most sophisticated C-Trap® systems at the newly formed Center for Optical Bio-Manipulation (COBM) at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen! The center is based around LUMICKS' C-Trap system, flaunting quadruple optical tweezers, 3 color confocal fluorescence microscopy, and STED…

Adrià Ferragut13 July 2021

Blog posts

Advanced C-Trap^® systems recently installed at two universities in Europe

We are delighted to announce two new C-Trap® installations in Europe, one at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and the other at the University of Kent. At MPI-CBG, this will be the second C-Trap installed. The new system is configured with quadruple optical traps…

Adrià Ferragut6 July 2021

Blog posts

ssRNA significantly decreases RNA G-quadruplex stability measured by C-Trap^®

A recent article published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters provides insight into the stability and folding dynamics of RNA G-quadruplexes (RG4). Using the C-Trap® optical tweezers, Ye et al. investigated the influence of a proximal single-stranded (ss) RNA sequence and found that its existence significantly impairs RG4 stability.…

j.yeh24 June 2021

Blog posts

Two Chinese universities now equipped with a C-Trap^® system

We are very pleased to announce two new C-Trap® installations in China, one at the Microscopy Core Facility at Westlake University and one at the Institute of Advanced Studies at Soochow University. We begin with the group of Dr. Huizhong Xu at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Soochow University. Their…

Adrià Ferragut15 June 2021

Blog posts

C-Trap^® reveals how HP1α-mediated heterochromatin modulates its stability in response to applied forces

In a recent publication by Keenen et al. in eLife, the authors uncover the biophysical properties of heterochromatin protein 1α (HP1α) and present a new model on how it mediates DNA condensation and phase separation. Employing a combination of ensemble and single-molecule assays, they found that within phase-separated HP1α-DNA condensates,…

j.yeh9 June 2021

Blog posts

LUMICKS z-Movi^® installed at Charité to measure TCR avidity in T cell therapy research

We are excited to announce the installation of a z-Movi® Cell Avidity Analyzer at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin! The z-Movi will be used by the research team led by Dr. Matthias Leisegang, Juniorprofessor at the Institute of Immunology. This unique instrument measures the interaction strength between target tumor cells and effector…

Adrià Ferragut1 June 2021

Blog posts

New insights into the dynamics of initial replisome assembly uncovered by the C-Trap^®

In a recent article published in Nature Communications, Sanchez et al. successfully employed LUMICKS’ C-Trap® to discover new insights into the molecular dynamics of initial replisome formation. In a collaborative effort between Prof. Dekker (TU Delft) and Prof. Diffley (Francis Crick Institute) laboratories, the scientists uncovered that origin recognition complex…

j.yeh18 May 2021

Blog posts

Three C-Trap^® systems installed in the US East Coast

We are excited to share that three more institutes on the US East Coast are now equipped with a C-Trap® Optical Tweezers – Fluorescence Microscope! The three new instruments are now housed at a new core facility at MSKCC, at the NanoSystems Laboratory at the OSU, and at the UPMC-Hillman Cancer…

j.yeh17 May 2021

Join our newsletter