Single particle biophysics

Rosenthal A. and Voldman J., Dielectrophoretic traps for single-particle patterning, Biophysical Journal, 88, 2193-2205, 2005. 

A FIGURE 18-12 Model of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). This class and the other classes of lipoproteins have the same general structure an amphipathic shell, composed of a phospholipid monolayer (not bilayer), cholesterol, and protein, and a hydrophobic core, composed mostly of cholesteryl esters or triglycerides or both but with minor amounts of other neutral lipids (e.g., some vitamins). This model of LDL is based on electron microscopy and other low-resolution biophysical methods. LDL is unique in that it contains only a single molecule of one type of apolipoprotein (apoB), which appears to wrap around the outside of the particle as a band of protein. The other lipoproteins contain multiple apolipoprotein molecules, often of different types. [Adapted from M. Krieger, 1995, in E. Haber, ed., Molecular Cardiovascular Medicine, Scientific American Medicine, pp. 31-47]... 

Since their invention, optical tweezers have proved themselves to be very powerful interdisciplinary tools. Today they are used extensively in biophysics, as they serve as delicate tools to manipulate and study single molecules of DNA [8, 9]. Optically trapped beads have been successfully used to measure local elasticities and viscosities, for example inside cells. Ashkin [5] provides an overview of the diverse uses of optical traps as an important tool in the important areas of research. Isolation and detection of sparse cells concentration of cells from dilute suspensions separation of cells according to specific properties and trapping and positioning of individual cells for characterization are the key areas of research due to their possible impact. The non-invasive nature of particle manipulation being a key requirement, forces like hydrodynamic, optical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic have been employed for such purposes. Successful examples of the use of these optical forces for biological applications are determination... 

E., Imaging single virus particles on the surface of cell membranes by high-resolution scanning surface confocal microscopy. Biophysical Journal 2008, 94,4089-4094. 

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