title: Exploring mechanochemical processes in the cell with optical tweezers.
abstract: Force and torque, stress and strain or work are examples of mechanical and elastic actions which are intimately linked to chemical reactions in the cell. Optical tweezers are a light-based method which allows the real-time manipulation of single molecules and cells to measure their interactions. We describe the technique, briefly reviewing the operating principles and the potential capabilities to the study of biological processes. Additional emphasis is given to the importance of fluctuations in biology and how single-molecule techniques allow access to them. We illustrate the applications by addressing experimental configurations and recent progresses in molecular and cell biology.
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hormeño
authors.forename: J Ricardo
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Arias-Gonzalez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D001703:Biophysics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D004210:Dissection / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D009696:Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D052898:Optical Tweezers / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D009696:Nucleic Acids