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Exploring mechanochemical processes in the cell with optical tweezers
Author(s) -
Hormeño Silvia,
AriasGonzalez J. Ricardo
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
biology of the cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.543
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1768-322X
pISSN - 0248-4900
DOI - 10.1042/bc20060036
Subject(s) - optical tweezers , magnetic tweezers , biology , nanotechnology , measure (data warehouse) , work (physics) , biological system , tweezers , biophysics , physics , computer science , materials science , optics , thermodynamics , database
Force and torque, stress and strain or work are examples of mechanical and elastic actions which are intimately linked to chemical reactions in the cell. Optical tweezers are a light‐based method which allows the real‐time manipulation of single molecules and cells to measure their interactions. We describe the technique, briefly reviewing the operating principles and the potential capabilities to the study of biological processes. Additional emphasis is given to the importance of fluctuations in biology and how single‐molecule techniques allow access to them. We illustrate the applications by addressing experimental configurations and recent progresses in molecular and cell biology.