title: Interfacial Molecular Searching Using Forager Dynamics.
abstract: Many biological and technological systems employ efficient non-Brownian intermittent search strategies where localized searches alternate with long flights. Coincidentally, molecular species exhibit intermittent behavior at the solid-liquid interface, where periods of slow motion are punctuated by fast flights through the liquid phase. Single-molecule tracking was used here to observe the interfacial search process of DNA for complementary DNA. Measured search times were qualitatively consistent with an intermittent-flight model, and ∼10 times faster than equivalent Brownian searches, suggesting that molecular searches for reactive sites benefit from similar efficiencies as biological organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Jon H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Monserud
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Schwartz