Single Molecule FRET Study of DNAG Quadruplex

The DNA G quadruplex formed by the human telomeric sequence is a potential target for novel anticancer drugs. We have investigated an intramolecular DNA G quadruplex using single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer and shown that individual folded quadruplexes can be identified. The mean proximity ratio measured at the single molecule level was consistent with ensemble measurement

Investigation on the Folding Mode of a Polymer Chain in a Spiral Crystal by Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Investigation on the folding mode of a single polymer chain in its crystal is significant to the understanding of the mechanism of the fundamental crystallization as well as the engineering of new polymer crystal-based materials. Herein, we use the combined techniques of atomic force microscopy （AFM） imaging and force spectroscopy to pull a single polyethylene oxide （PEO） chain out of its spiral crystal in amyl acetate. From these data, the folding mode of polymer chains in the spiral crystal has been reconstructed. We find that the stems tilt in the typical flat area, leading to the decrease in the apparent lamellar height. While in the area of screw dislocation, the lamellar height gradually increases in the range of several nanometers. These results indicate that the combined techniques present a novel tool to directly unravel the chain folding mode of spiral crystals at single-molecule level.

Fluorescence of Single Conjugated Chains of MEH-PPV Dispersed in Polymer Matrix: What Do We See in the Microscope?

It has been a mystery that the detected fluorescence intensity of single MEH-PPV molecules is much lower than expected based on their chain length.In this review,after re-evaluating of the literature data in the light of new specially designed experiments,we present a comprehensive explanation of this issue:The actual size of MEH-PPV molecules at single molecule level is much smaller than expected due to de-aggregation and chain scission,while static quenching("dark matter")also exists for large molecules,further reducing their brightness.

Stretching Elasticity and Flexibility of Single Polyformaldehyde Chain

In this work,the single-chain elasticity of polyformaldehyde(POM)is studied,for the first time,by employing atomic force microscopy(AFM)-based single molecule force spectroscopy(SMFS).We find that the single-chain elasticity of POM in a nonpolar organic solvent(nonane)can be described well by a theoretical model(QM-FRC model),when the rotating unit length is 0.144 nm(C―O bond length).After comparison,POM is more flexible than polystyrene(a typical polymer with C―C backbone)at the single-chain level,which is reasonable since the C―O bond has a lower rotation barrier than C―C bond.This result indicates that the flexibility of a polymer chain can be tuned by the C―O bond proportion in backbone,which casts new light on the rational design of new synthetic polymers in the future.

Self-assembly of anisotropic tobacco mosaic virus nanoparticles on gold substrate

A facile approach to assembled virus film with tunable structure is presented.Rod-like tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was selected as the prototype in this study for its anisotropic structural feature.TMV can either "lie down" or "stand up" on gold substrate by tuning the solution pH.A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring was used to monitor the pH-dependent self-assembly behavior of TMV nanoparticles,and atomic force microscopy and single molecule force spectroscopy further confirmed the different assembly structures.