Probing Protein-Ligand and Colloid-Colloid Interactions by Optical Tweezers

^{KEYWORDS: Optical Tweezers; NanoTracker; Force Measurements; Proteins; Colloids; Colloid-Colloid Interaction; Force-Clamp; Force-Ramp; Life Science}

To quantitatively probe the interaction between colloidal particles, force-sensing optical tweezers have proven to be a versatile tool. Here, we discuss two different experiments that demonstrate the principle of force spectroscopy optical tweezers experiments in colloid research.

The NanoTracker proves to be directly applicable to colloid-colloid interaction measurements for biophysical and materials science research studies. The configurational freedom provided by this system to set up the force spectroscopy experiment allows for many different assays, including force clamp or force ramp experiments for interactions between colloids or interactions between a colloid and a surface.

Readers can expect to learn about:

• The principle of the NanoTracker Optical Tweezers system and experimental assays for measuring colloid-colloid interaction forces;
  
• Detailed application examples showcasing the versatility and flexibility of the system; and
• The potential of Bruker's NanoTracker system for studying protein-ligand and colloid-colloid interactions under native conditions.