Webinar : AFM Application in Single Molecule Studies
Webinar : AFM Application in Single Molecule Studies
Thursday 4 July 2019
Auckland (NZST) : 5:30pm
Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart (AEST) : 3:30pm
Adelaide (ACST) : 3pm
Perth (AWDT) : 1:30pm
Cells can sense, adapt to, and even remodel their extracellular microenvironment. The interplay between the cell and its environment involves multiplex signalling networks, in which many molecules duly implement their own functions. Using traditional biochemical techniques, the molecular function can only be investigated based on the averaged activities of a large amount of molecules; while single molecule techniques can provide more detailed information by resolving the structure and interaction of each individual molecule. For example, AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) can reveal how many different conformations of A? amyloid fibrils exist at a specific condition, and how each conformation interacts with the monomeric protein. The monomer-monomer or monomer-fibril interaction variation can be monitored in-situ while the environmental conditions (e.g., pH and ionic strength) are changed.
On the other hand, force has been utilised by nature to drive protein conformational changes, therefore modulate its stability and functionality. Such mechanical mechanisms are widely involved in physiological events at cellular level. To understand these mechanisms at the molecular level, it is necessary to manipulate single bio-molecules and resolve sub-pN forces. Thanks to recent improvements in spatial, temporal, and force resolutions, AFM and optical tweezers are capable to address the above requests. Now the single molecule stretching and rupture events can be directly resolved with sub-nm distance and pN force resolutions. The mechanical stability of processive motors (e.g., kinesin and myosin) have been widely studied with optical tweezers. Subtle forces have been applied on ion-binding proteins and antigen-antibody complexes to understand the mechanical effect on the binding affinity.
In this webinar Bruker share the recent technological developments in this field and some examples in molecular applications of AFM and optical tweezers.
