Open AccessMagnetic tweezers: development and use in single-molecule research
Author(s) -
Santosh Gaire,
Roberto Fabian,
Ian L. Pegg,
Abhijit Sarkar
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
biotechniques/biotechniques
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.617
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1940-9818
pISSN - 0736-6205
DOI - 10.2144/btn-2021-0104
Subject(s) - magnetic tweezers , optical tweezers , tweezers , dna , nanotechnology , computational biology , biophysics , biology , physics , biochemistry , materials science , optics
The use of magnetic tweezers for single-molecule micromanipulation has evolved rapidly since its introduction approximately 30 years ago. Magnetic tweezers have provided important insights into the dynamic activity of DNA-processing enzymes, as well as detailed, high-resolution information on the mechanical properties of DNA. These successes have been enabled by major advancements in the hardware and software components of these devices. These developments now allow for a much richer mechanistic understanding of the functions and mechanisms of DNA-binding enzymes. In this review, the authors briefly discuss the fundamental principles of magnetic tweezers and describe the advancements that have made it a superlative tool for investigating, at the single-molecule level, DNA and its interactions with DNA-binding proteins.