Abstract
Single-molecule experiments provide unique insights into the mechanisms of biomolecular phenomena. However, because varying the concentration of a solute usually requires the exchange of the entire solution around the molecule, ligand-concentration-dependent measurements on the same molecule pose a challenge. In the present work we exploited the fact that a diffusion-dependent concentration gradient arises in a laminar-flow microfluidic device, which may be utilized for controlling the concentration of the ligand that the mechanically manipulated single molecule is exposed to. We tested this experimental approach by exposing a λ-phage dsDNA molecule, held with a double-trap optical tweezers instrument, to diffusionally-controlled concentrations of SYTOX Orange (SxO) and tetrakis(4-N-methyl)pyridyl-porphyrin (TMPYP). We demonstrate that the experimental design allows access to transient-kinetic, equilibrium and ligand-concentration-dependent mechanical experiments on the very same single molecule.
Highlights
We show that by positioning a pre-stretched single λ-phage dsDNA molecule at different locations within a diffusionally controlled spatial concentration gradient of the DNA-binding ligand, the parameters of the binding reaction can be accessed by following the concentration-dependent changes in DNA extension
In this work we investigated the applicability of a diffusionally generated concentration gradient in single-molecule biophysics
In the employed instrument force-measuring double-trap optical tweezers were combined with laser scanning confocal fluorescence imaging and laminar-flow microfluidics
Summary
Single-molecule methods, which have been evolving progressively in the past thirty years [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11], give unprecedented insights into mechanistic details of molecular phenomena because they provide the distribution of parameters beyond ensemble averages, reveal stochastic processes such as fluorescence blinking [12], uncover trajectories of processes that evolve along parallel pathways such as protein folding [13,14,15], and allow the characterization of mechanical functions and properties such as molecular elasticity and motor-enzyme force generation [16,17,18]. We utilize the concentration gradient that evolves in a parallel, laminar-flow multichannel microfluidic device, to expose a model DNA molecule to controlled concentrations of model intercalators SYTOX Orange (SxO) and a porphyrin derivative (TMPYP). Such DNA-binding small molecules have long been of interest due to their widespread applications. We show that by positioning a pre-stretched single λ-phage dsDNA molecule at different locations within a diffusionally controlled spatial concentration gradient of the DNA-binding ligand, the parameters of the binding reaction can be accessed by following the concentration-dependent changes in DNA extension. Force-driven structural changes in the very same DNA molecule can be measured at well-controlled ligand concentrations
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