DATE2024.08.26 #Press Releases
Development of a new single molecule measurement technique for analyzing temperature-dependent changes in the fine structure of single biomolecules
Summary
A research group led by Professor Hirohito Yamazaki, a specially-appointed lecturer at Nagaoka University of Technology, Kouta Kaito (a second-year master's student at the time of research), Kyosuke Matsuda (a second-year master's student at the time of research), Hiromu Kato (a fourth-year student at the time of research), Associate Professor Takuya Mabuchi of Tohoku University, and Professor Sotaro Uemura of the University of Tokyo has developed a new single molecule measurement technique to analyze temperature-dependent changes in the fine structural state of a single protein. A new single molecule measurement technique has been developed to analyze temperature-dependent changes in the microscopic conformational state of single proteins.
This was first achieved by combining the “asymmetric thin nanopore” processing technology, which has higher detection sensitivity than conventional methods, and the “nanopore thermoscopic method,” a temperature control technique using laser heating. Analysis of cytochrome c in an intermediate structural state using this technology suggests that the denaturation of the α-helical structure is accelerated as the temperature rises, demonstrating the effectiveness of this technology.
This new technique can be applied not only to the analysis of temperature-induced structural changes of proteins, but also to the analysis of the structural states of proteins by post-translational modifications, DNA and RNA molecules by modified bases, etc., and is expected to be a powerful analytical tool to advance our understanding of life phenomena.
The research results have been published in Nano Letters of the American Chemical Society.
Figure：a) Current waveform during processing of asymmetric thin nanopores, b) Detection of protein (cytochrome c) using asymmetric thin nanopores
Links：Nagaoka University of Technology, Tohoku University.（in Japanese）
Journal
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Journal name Nano LettersTitle of paper