Probing Ligand-Receptor Interaction in Living Cells Using Force Measurements With Optical Tweezers.

This work probes the binding kinetics of COOH-terminus of (c-CPE) and claudin expressing MCF-7 cells using force spectroscopy with optical tweezers. c-CPE is of high biomedical interest due to its ability to specifically bind to claudin with high affinity as well as reversibly disrupt tight junctions whilst maintaining cell viability. We observed single-step rupture events between silica particles functionalized with c-CPE and MCF-7 cells.