Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 9, 2026

Use of Dual Optical Tweezers and Microfluidics for Single-Molecule Studies
06:53

Use of Dual Optical Tweezers and Microfluidics for Single-Molecule Studies

Published on: November 18, 2022

2.9K

A Temperature-Jump Optical Trap for Single-Molecule Manipulation.

Sara de Lorenzo1, Marco Ribezzi-Crivellari2, J Ricardo Arias-Gonzalez3

  • 1Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Ciber-BBN de Bioingenería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.

Biophysical Journal
|June 18, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

SmartTrap: automated precision experiments with optical tweezers.

Nature methods·2026
Same author

Determining the Effective DNA Charge Density from Nanopore Translocation Dynamics.

Nano letters·2026
Same author

Evolution of error correction through a need for speed.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same author

Continuous-time random walk model for the diffusive motion of helicases.

QRB discovery·2025
Same author

Temperature-dependent funnel-like DNA folding landscapes.

Nucleic acids research·2025
Same author

A writing protocol with ambiguity resilience in nanoscale systems.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025

Researchers developed a novel optical tweezers system for rapid, local temperature changes. This tool precisely measures molecular forces at varying temperatures, advancing biophysics research.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Molecular Biophysics
  • Optical Tweezers

Background:

  • Precise temperature control is crucial for studying molecular interactions.
  • Previous optical tweezers setups faced challenges with convection and baseline shifts during temperature changes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a novel temperature-jump optical tweezers setup for precise, localized temperature control.
  • To investigate the thermodynamic properties of DNA duplexes and the elasticity of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) across a range of temperatures.

Main Methods:

  • A novel optical tweezers instrument was designed using a heating laser absorbed by water for rapid, local temperature adjustments.
  • The setup incorporates features to minimize convection and baseline drift.
  • Force-distance curves of individual DNA molecules were recorded at various temperatures (5°C to 50°C).

More Related Videos

Combining Single-molecule Manipulation and Imaging for the Study of Protein-DNA Interactions
14:43

Combining Single-molecule Manipulation and Imaging for the Study of Protein-DNA Interactions

Published on: August 27, 2014

12.2K
Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles
13:39

Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles

Published on: January 15, 2013

23.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 9, 2026

Use of Dual Optical Tweezers and Microfluidics for Single-Molecule Studies
06:53

Use of Dual Optical Tweezers and Microfluidics for Single-Molecule Studies

Published on: November 18, 2022

2.9K
Combining Single-molecule Manipulation and Imaging for the Study of Protein-DNA Interactions
14:43

Combining Single-molecule Manipulation and Imaging for the Study of Protein-DNA Interactions

Published on: August 27, 2014

12.2K
Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles
13:39

Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles

Published on: January 15, 2013

23.1K

Main Results:

  • The instrument accurately measured DNA unzipping thermodynamics, yielding basepair free energy, entropy, and enthalpy.
  • Temperature-dependent elasticity of ssDNA was characterized, revealing a condensation plateau at low force and temperature.
  • An anomalous increase in ssDNA persistence length with temperature at high force was observed, contradicting entropic models.

Conclusions:

  • The developed temperature-jump optical tweezers provide a stable and accurate platform for single-molecule biophysics.
  • The study provides new insights into DNA thermodynamics and ssDNA elasticity, highlighting temperature's complex role.
  • Observed anomalies in ssDNA persistence length warrant further investigation into polymer physics under varying thermal conditions.