Protein

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

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

Highly reproducible single-molecule analysis of transient structures of native proteins using m-Trap^® dual optical tweezers combined with Raman spectroscopy

A recent publication by Dai et al. in Nature Communications presents an optical tweezers-coupled Raman spectroscopy platform providing tuneable and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements. By combining a Raman microscope with the dual-trap optical tweezers and microfluidic flow chamber of the m-Trap®, the scientists were able to characterize three…

j.yeh8 April 2021

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