title: Cutting the forest to see a single tree?
abstract: The development of single-molecule tools has significantly impacted the way we think about biochemical processes. Watching a single protein in action allows us to observe kinetic details and rare subpopulations that are hidden in ensemble-averaging techniques. I will discuss here the pros and cons of the single-molecule approach in studying ligand binding in macromolecular systems and how these techniques can be applied to characterize the behavior of large multicomponent biochemical systems.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, 240 Longwood Avenue, SGM204A, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. antoine_van_oijen@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Antoine M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Oijen
mesh_terms: D004798:Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000502:physiology; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000502:physiology; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D012107:Research Design; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D011506:Proteins