Blog posts

Top banner image was licensed by Sergey Novikov / Shutterstock.com

Blog posts

Experienced C-Trap^® users in Munich, Germany, acquired second system

The Technical University of Munich, Germany, is now the home of two C-Trap® Optical Tweezers – Fluorescence Microscopes. With this second installation, the renowned lab of Prof. Matthias Rief is taking their dynamic single-molecule research to the next level. Prof. Rief is a pioneer in studying processes involved in protein…

j.yeh24 November 2021

Blog posts

Using C-Trap^® to unravel different binding modes of architectural DNA-binding proteins at different ionic conditions and DNA conformation

A recent study by Szu‐Ning Lin et al. for the first time provided direct information on the dynamics of the interaction between HU and DNA and how this interaction is influenced by ionic conditions and DNA conformation.

j.yeh9 November 2021

Blog posts

Insights into the mechanism of Cas12a dynamics using C-Trap^®

A recent publication by Losito et al. from the lab of Prof. David Rueda (Imperial College London), reveals new information on the kinetics and mechanism of Cas12a-DNA interaction.

j.yeh13 October 2021

Blog posts

Dynamic Single-Molecule Workshop at Westlake University

LUMICKS recently held a successful live dynamic single-molecule workshop at Westlake University. Throughout the 2-day event, participants joined our scientists for lectures in which they explored different state-of-the-art single-molecule applications. Each day was also finished with a live DNA mechanics and visualization experiment using the C-Trap® Optical Tweezers – Fluorescence…

Adrià Ferragut6 September 2021

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

Join our newsletter