A single molecule DNA flow stretching microscope for undergraduates

Authors

Kelly Williams, Emmanuel College
Brendan Grafe, Emmanuel College
Kathryn M. Burke, Emmanuel College
Nathan Tanner, Harvard University, University of Groningen
Antoine M. van Oijen, University of GroningenFollow
Joseph J. Loparo, Harvard Medical School
Allen C. Price, Emmanuel College

RIS ID

94059

Publication Details

Williams, K., Grafe, B., Burke, K. M., Tanner, N. A., van Oijen, A. M., Loparo, J. J. & Price, A. C. (2011). A single molecule DNA flow stretching microscope for undergraduates. American Journal of Physics, 79 (11), 1112-1120.

Abstract

The design of a simple, safe, and inexpensive single molecule flow stretching instrument is presented. The instrument uses a low cost upright microscope coupled to a webcam for imaging single DNA molecules that are tethered in an easy to construct microfluidic flow cell. The system requires no special vibration isolation and is capable of measuring DNA replication at the single molecule level. We discuss two laboratory experiments suitable for advanced undergraduates using our microscope.