Force-clamp spectroscopy

Force-Clamp Spectroscopy Measures the Distance to the Transition State Ax... 

Perhaps the most striking use of force-clamp spectroscopy so far has been in the study of the effect of force on a chemical reaction [13-15]. While mortars and pestles have been used for thousands of years to catalyze chemical reactions, it had never been possible to examine a molecule undergoing a chemical reaction when placed under a calibrated and vectorially defined force. This has now been achieved by combining protein engineering with force-clamp spectroscopy. Our basic strategy is shown in Fig. 17.7. 

Force-Clamp Spectroscopy of Single Proteins Reduction events 13.5 nm... 

Fernandez JM, Li H (2004) Force-clamp spectroscopy monitors the folding trajectory of a single protein. Science 303 1674—1678... 

Figure 3 Possible mechanisms of MS channel activation by bilayer deformation forces. Hydrophobic mismatch and bilayer curvature are considered as deformation forces of pressure-induced changes in the lipid bilayer causing conformational changes in MS channels as indicated by the example of MscL (13). These changes were studied experimentally by reconstituting purified MscL proteins in liposome bilayers prepared from synthetic phosphatidylcholine lipids of well-defined composition. The changes in functional properties were examined by the patch-clamp technique, whereas the structural changes were determined by EPR and FRET spectroscopy. (Reproduced from Reference 12, with permission).

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