Title:
Micromagnetic-DEP Tweezers for Studying Fibronectin Fragment Mechanics
Micromagnetic-DEP Tweezers for Studying Fibronectin Fragment Mechanics
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Author(s)
Cao, Lizhi
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Abstract
A variety of tools are available for studies of single molecule biophysics, these include:
atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical and magnetic tweezers, biomembrane force probe
(BFP), among other techniques. However, few techniques exist for parallel high throughput
analysis, and to our knowledge none have been coupled to microfluidic systems for coupled
biochemical assays. We have developed a microfabricated system using opposing magnetic and
dielectrophoresis (DEP) forces to study the conformational changes and unfolding behavior of
magnetic bead-coupled engineered fibronectin protein fragments. Specifically, our system may
allow for the study of forced unfolding of fibronectin type III repeats on a massively parallel
scale, and offers the potential for integration with biochemical assays to assess the functional
consequences of forced unfolding. More broadly, the micromagnetic-DEP system developed here
can be extended to study antibody-antigen interactions, as well as other protein-protein
interactions.
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Date Issued
2013-04-23
Extent
24:49 minutes
Resource Type
Moving Image
Resource Subtype
Lecture