Center for Biological Physics
Lori Goldner, Jenny Ross
Adrian Parsegian
Direct measurement of intermolecular forces
to build a physics of molecular organization
Watching single molecules move through channels
Theory of intermolecular forces organizing soft
materials, colloids and large bio-molecules
Viral DNA is under pressure that can drive infection:
exploded virus and intact virus
Bacteriophage T2
Kleinschmidt et al. (1962)
DNA spooled inside a virus
A. Evilevitch, (2006).
Building a physics of forces and energies
for nanometer-to-micrometer - size particles
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Qu
d
are neede
Equation of State: Osmotic pressure vs. DNA density,
function of salt, temperature, etc.
Unified equation of
state for flexible
polymers:
Osmotic pressures of
many sizes and
concentrations fit with
ONE parameter.
Joel Cohen (Univ
Pacific), Rudi
Podgornik (Slovenia)
To be part-time
@UMass
Transport through single ionic channels
Current detection of single-molecule transit
Detection
_
+
I(pA)
pA
pA
E(mV)
0
10ms
ms
10
25 µm
1 cm
70 µm
Current
through
channel
Sergey Bezrukov,
Philip Gurnev
Building an apparatus
in Hasbrouck next
month
100 µm
2 nm
Theory of intermolecular forces
(electrostatics, electrodynamics, solvation, steric)
example of single-walled carbon nanotubes
Connection between
dielectric spectra
and
van der Waals
torques/forces.
Rick Rajter, Rudi Podgornik, Roger French, Wai-Yim Ching, AP
Under study
DNA, Lipids (cell membranes), Proteins
Xiangyun Qiu, Rudi Podgornik, to be working @UMass
Jason DeRouchey, Don Rau, et al. at NIH (where I used to work)
Thanks