Employing one-molecule optical and AFM imaging and pressure-spectroscopy strategies, we search for to unravel the mechanistic facets of the composition and dynamics of chromosomes. Our exploration passions consist of:
Human Rad51 filaments on double- and one-stranded DNA: correlating normal and irregular kinds with recombination functionality.
Multicolor imaging from the bacterial nucleoid and mobile division proteins with blue, orange, and in close proximity to-infrared fluorescent proteins
Sculpting nano-electrodes using a transmission electron beam for electrical and geometrical characterization of nanoparticles.
This yielded a breakthrough. In only a few months, we ended up capable of evaluate transport by a person one-walled carbon nanotube. Depending on small-temperature experiments by an excellent PhD university student in my group, Sander Tans (now a valued colleague and professor at Delft College of Engineering having an active exploration lab at AMOLF in Amsterdam), we showed that carbon nanotubes have been genuine quantum wires with incredibly long (micrometres) electronic coherence lengths — confirming theoretical predictions of metallic conduct.
Electrical transport in monolayers of phthalocyanine molecular wires and AFM imaging of one wire bridging two electrodes
What distinguishes biology from chemistry is these components collectively make up a living technique. The trick of explained life, I do think, lies inside the interactions, the interaction of Individuals molecules. The massive query with regard to the origin of existence remains unanswered. How did we ever evolve from basic molecules into the really complex techniques we see now? We have no idea. I would like to operate on these kinds of huge, open up questions.’
2011, cees dekker first in vitro measurements of transportation throughout one biomimetic nuclear pore intricate; growth of multiplexed magnetic tweezers for kilo-molecule experiments; and settled the mechanism of homology recognition in DNA homologous recombination
Imagine if, as an alternative to utilizing common best-down silicon electronics, transistors could be designed from the bottom up working with single organic and natural molecules because the switching things? This idea, which grew to become the basis of nowadays’s field of molecular electronics, 1st emerged in the seventies.
There was a person problem although — we did not observe any measurable electrical conduction from The only polymer molecules. We concluded that at The only-molecule degree, conducting polymers have been in fact not these terrific conductors, which was alternatively disappointing. We Hence broadened our check out to try to discover a lot more promising molecules.
‘The concept There's such a issue to be a commencing, a large bang, is presently a fascinating signpost to look at that there was a creator. But more usually, and on The idea of pure rationality, I also arrive at a Christian interpretation of fact. An atheistic worldview is often a naturalistic worldview: essentially, there are only atoms and all-natural forces that we are able to measure.
2001, discovery of solitary-electron transistors at area temperature determined by nanotubes; realization of initially logic circuits with carbon nanotube devices; and discovery from the molecular structure of DNA restore enzymes with AFM
2008, first observation of protein-coated DNA translocation through nanopores; resolved the origin of the electrophoretic drive on DNA in nanopores; found out a significant velocity maximize of microtubules in electric powered fields; learned an anomalous electro-hydrodynamic orientation of microtubules; and fixed the origin of sounds in carbon nanotubes in liquid
Illustration (two) of bending configurations in 3D simulations of DNA rods on nanopores. A part of the membrane is revealed in grey, the rim of your pore is highlighted in purple, as well as a 3D rendering of your motion of your DNA rod is shown.