Essential Components for a High Resolution Optical Tweezers

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This equipment grant will allow the applicant to purchase essential components to custom-build a high resolution dual beam optical tweezers system for investigating the mechanical properties of elastomeric proteins at the single molecule level. Our research program is focused on elucidating the physicochemical mechanisms underlying the mechanical stability of proteins, and to develop rational ways to tailor these mechanical properties and use these proteins as building blocks for the bottom-up construction of novel protein-based biomaterials. Towards this goal, we will combine single molecule atomic force microscopy and the proposed high resolution optical tweezers to understand, control and engineer the mechanical properties of proteins at the single molecule level. The combination of single molecule atomic force microscopy and the proposed optical tweezers setup will enable us to cover the full spectrum of mechanical stability of proteins, ranging from a few picoNewtons to hundreds of picoNewtons, and investigate the mechanical properties of a wide range of elastomeric proteins with diverse functions, including constituting proteins from structural materials in nature, as well as artificial elastomeric proteins that mimic natural designs and provide unique functional properties. These proteins can then be used as building blocks to construct protein-based biomaterials with tailored mechanical properties for applications in material sciences and biomedical engineering.