Final Report Summary - FDBNSDNA (Force-Dependent Behaviour of Non-Standard DNA Structures and their Uses in Artificial DNA Machines and in Genetic Regulation)
The aim of this research proposal is to build on my previous experience with DNA-protein complexes and study the dynamical stability – that is the fluctuation, and the transitions between functional states that nanoscopic structures perform intrinsically due to the interaction with the thermal background – of non-standard DNA structures, and especially G-quadruplexes, in the sub-pico-Newton force regime. To this aim we have improved upon the design of a massively parallel “Centrifugal Force Microscope” to collect data on the motion, folding, and unfolding of many DNA structures at the same time. In parallel we have optimized sample preparation techniques which will allow us to use the full potential of this new type of microscope.