Magnetic Tweezers (MT) are an innovative single molecule method which allows to manipulate a single macromolecule (tipically DNA) connected to a micron-sized bead. By means of macroscopic magnetic fields, MT can apply to the DNA a controlled torque and force in the range of femto/pico Newton. The possible MT manipulations include stretching and torsion of the DNA molecule, giving detailed information about the nano-mechanical properties of DNA. It is possible to use MT in elucidating the binding mechanism and effects of small DNA ligands and in measuring the DNA stability against mechanical DNA denaturation at different environmental conditions. Here we present a brief description of the fundamentals of the method, as well as a short summary of some recent results.


Seminar, March 7, 2014, 12:00. Seminar Room

Hosted by Raúl Rica