First, molecular properties are measured one molecule at a time in a single-molecule experiment. Hence, in contrast with conventional ensemble AbstractIntroductionSingle-molecule methods primer
In contrast to many ensemble-based experiments, single-molecule experiments on biological objects can be performed under biologically relevant conditions and, more importantly, can reveal information about dynamic or static heterogeneity and the possible existence of sub‐populations.
In the Laboratory of Single Molecule Biophysics, led by Dr. Keir C. Neuman, techniques---including optical and magnetic tweezers and fluorescence imaging,
We aim to visualize the dynamic progressions of ensemble DNA mismatch repair (MMR) in vitro and in vivo to detail the mechanism of MMR using single-molecule
We develop and combine cutting-edge single molecule and single cell techniques to solve important problems in biological science, including the organization
We use state-of-the-art single-molecule techniques to probe the structure, dynamics, and interactions of biomolecules in living cells. Our research is driven by
Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer is a biophysical technique used to measure distances at the 1-10 nanometer scale in single molecules, typically biomolecules.
It is an application of FRET wherein a pair of donor and acceptor fluorophores are excited and detected at a single molecule level.
In contrast to ensemble FRET which provides the FRET signal of a high number of molecules, single-molecule FRET is able to resolve the FRET signal of each individual molecule.
The variation of the smFRET signal is useful to reveal kinetic information that an ensemble measurement cannot provide, especially when the system is under equilibrium with no ensemble/bulk signal change.
Heterogeneity among different molecules can also be observed.
This method has been applied in many measurements of intramolecular dynamics such as DNA/RNA/protein folding/unfolding and other conformational changes, and intermolecular dynamics such as reaction, binding, adsorption, and desorption that are particularly useful in chemical sensing, bioassays, and biosensing.