Joint numerical-experimental investigation of the dynamics of single- and doubly-tethered DNA molecules in shear flow

该项目的主要目的是通过联合数值和实验研究来研究DNA浸入水动力流中的微观力学行为。该主题与生物物理学和生物纳米技术中新型单分子操作技术的发展高度相关，其中复杂的dna -液体相互作用发生。当前项目的重点是以下任务。(i)基于我们之前的工作，我们将开发一个经过验证的数值模拟工具，该工具能够预测浸泡在液体流动中的拴住的DNA分子的行为，并适用于DNA拉伸的有效三维计算。（ii）我们将研究单个DNA分子的微观力学行为，在两端系住，暴露在剪切流中。DNA与流体之间的力学相互作用以及相应的DNA形态将被定量预测。（iii）最后，将通过引入dna -蛋白质相互作用来考虑更复杂的系统。我们将研究DNA对流体动力流动的机械响应是否可以用于局部传感，从而产生使用固定化DNA分子作为单一关联事件的机械流体传感器的概念。单分子概念的发展对蛋白质组学、基因组学和生物医学诊断的未来应用具有重要意义。

The main objective of the project is to investigate the micromechanical behaviour of DNA immersed in a hydrodynamic flow by joint numerical and experimental investigations. This topic is highly relevant for the development of novel single-molecule manipulation techniques in biophysics and bionanotechnology where complex DNA-liquid interactions occur. The current project focuses on the following tasks. (i) Based on our previous work, we will develop a validated numerical simulation tool which is able to predict the behavior of tethered DNA molecules immersed in a liquid flow and is suitable for efficient three-dimensional computations of DNA stretching. (ii) We will investigate the micromechanical behavior of individual DNA molecules, tethered at both ends, exposed to a shear flow. The mechanical interaction between DNA and flow along with the corresponding DNA morphology will be predicted quantitatively. (iii) Finally, a more complex system will be considered by introducing DNA-protein interaction. We will investigate if the mechanical response of DNA to hydrodynamic flow can be used for local sensing, leading to the concept of using an immobilized DNA molecule as a mechano-fluidic sensor for single association events. The development of single-molecule concepts is of large importance for future applications in proteomics, genomics and biomedical diagnostics.