University of New Mexico
An automated and user-friendly optical tweezers for biomolecular investigations
Abstract
dc:description.abstractOptical tweezers are not new to biological applications but building a tweezers which is versatile, automated, precise, stable and user-friendly is quite challenging. Such a tweezers usually require not only a hefty budget but vast understanding of engineer- ing of optomechanical systems. I describe in this dissertation a versatile, automated, precise, stable and user-friendly optical tweezers that we developed for biomolecular investigations under limited budget. I describe automation and control improvements along with newly-developed surface detection software. I also describe cost-e ective optomechanical devices used in tweezers with potential for broader application. Fi- nally, I present new results of single-molecule force spectroscopy of DNA overstretch- ing as a function of water isotope type. Single DNA unzipping is also presented as a proof of concept.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Optical Science and Engineering
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Doctoral
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Optical Science and Engineering
- Year
- 2013
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- rahti, pranav
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- koch, steven
- Lester, Luke
- Thomas, james
- Lidke, Keith
Rights
- Language dc:language
- English
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:ose_etds-1035