The dynamics of partially extended single molecules of DNA
- Creators
- Quake, Stephen R.
- Babcock, Hazen
- Chu, Steven
Abstract
The behaviour of an isolated polymer floating in a solvent forms the basis of our understanding of polymer dynamics. Classical theories describe the motion of a polymer with linear equations of motion, which yield a set of 'normal modes', analogous to the fundamental frequency and the harmonics of a vibrating violin string. But hydrodynamic interactions make polymer dynamics inherently nonlinear, and the linearizing approximations required for the normal-mode picture have therefore been questioned1. Here we test the normal-mode theory by measuring the fluctuations of single molecules of DNA held in a partially extended state with optical tweezers. We find that the motion of the DNA can be described by linearly independent normal modes, and we have experimentally determined the eigenstates of the system. Furthermore, we show that the spectrum of relaxation times obeys a power law.
Additional Information
© 1997 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Received 12 September 1996; Accepted 13 May 1997; Published 10 July 1997. We thank T. T. Perkins and D. E. Smith for contributions and discussions in the early stages of this work, and B. Zimm, R. Larson, T. Lodge, G. Fuller, E. Shaqfeh, S. Doniach and W. Volkmuth for discussions. This work was supported in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Science Foundation, and the Human Frontier Science Program. S.R.Q. was supported in part by an NSF fellowship.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 90884
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20181114-080809127
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- Human Frontier Science Program
- Created
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2018-11-14Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field