CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES OF SINGLE DNA MOLECULES INDUCED BY HFQ AND PROTAMINE

Abstract

SINGLE MOLECULE TECHNIQUES ARE NOWADAYS ROUTINELY EMPLOYED FOR INVESTIGATING THE PROPERTIES OF BIOMACROMOLECULES. ADVANCES IN NANOFABRICATION HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO FABRICATE QUASI ONE-DIMENSIONAL CHANNEL DEVICES WITH CROSS-SECTIONAL DIAMETERS IN THE RANGE OF TENS TO HUNDREDS OF NANOMETERS. THESE CHANNELS SERVE AS A PLATFORM FOR STUDYING SINGLE DNA MOLECULES. ADVANTAGES OF THE NANOCHANNEL PLATFORM ARE THAT THE DNA MOLECULES ARE IN AN EQUILIBRIUM CONFORMATION, HIGH THROUGH-PUT CAN BE ACHIEVED BY USING ARRAYS OF PARALLEL CHANNELS AND INTEGRATION WITH LAB-ON-CHIP DEVICES. THIS THESIS FOCUS ON THE CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES OF SINGLE DNA MOLECULES INDUCED BY HFQ AND PROTAMINE BY USING SINGLE MOLECULE TECHNIQUES.