Structure-Function Relationships of Single Fluorescent Macromolecules

When chemical reactivity is measured for a series of systematically related molecules, a structure-function relationship can be derived that summarizes the effect of the perturbation. This seminar will develop the idea of studying chemistry with single molecule structure-function relationships. In our implementation, optical tweezers are used to isolate a tethered single molecule and apply a force bias to create sub-ensembles of well-defined extension. For fluorescent molecules, the intrinsic optical emission can provide a probe of function. Ongoing research will be discussed, including an investigation into the green fluorescent family of proteins. These proteins share a common chromophore capable of a diverse range of photochemistries (electron transfer, proton transfer, isomerization, oxidative addition) whose reactivity is determined by subtle environmental changes.



Ziad Ganim (Yale University)