DNA Nanoswitches
By attaching binding molecules to one strand of double stranded DNA, it is possible to see, using a centrifuge force microscope (CFM), how the DNA bends from an open to closed structure around a target molecule. This is highly useful in drug discovery. According to this piece from the Wyss Institute, “. . . the benchtop CFM device – consisting of the CFM unit itself, parts for transmitting the camera signal, and a battery – fits into two standard buckets of a common laboratory centrifuge and is balanced by counterweights in the respective opposite buckets. The technique is highly cost efficient and is positioned to make single molecule force analysis accessible to the entire scientific community, and could be used to advance drug development.” MORE
Image Credit: Harvard University, Wyss Institute