Philip Tinnefeld - Viernes 3 de Septiembre 14:00hs

Expanding the single-molecule toolbox with DNA origami and graphene

DNA nanotechnology enables the construction of complex nano-devices that provide new functionalities e.g. in biosensing and single-molecule biophysics. DNA nanorulers for superresolution microscopy, DNA origami nanoantennas for fluorescence enhancement, and DNA origami force clamps are some of our expansions of the single-molecule toolbox. Here, I report on recent progress with these nanotools and present a new research line in which we place single-molecule assays on graphene. In this context, graphene acts as a broadband energy transfer acceptor in single-molecule biophysics experiments and can provide exquisite z-resolution in superresolution microscopy. I discuss how graphene quenching reports on the distance of dyes to graphene by fluorescence intensity or better, by fluorescence lifetime measurements. Using DNA origami nano-positioners, we place sensing units at the most sensitive height and report on new biosensing formats for nucleic acid. Finally, we combine graphene energy transfer with DNA PAINT and p-MINFLUX for superresolution and tracking with nanometer resolution and time resolution in the millisecond range.