A new Nature Communications article sheds light into the mechanisms that govern programmed ribosomal frameshifting (PRF) in SARS-CoV-2 virus, as demonstrated by C-Trap experiments.
j.yeh13 December 2021
A recent work published in eLife by Francisco de Asis Balaguer et al. shed light on the interaction of ParB with DNA, the consequent DNA condensation, and the role of cytidine triphosphate (CTP) in this process – at a single-molecule level. Using the C-Trap® the researchers investigated the role of…
j.yeh30 November 2021
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
