Confinement and manipulation of actin filaments by electric fields.

Biophys J

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Published: October 2007

AI Article Synopsis

  • Researchers applied an AC electric field between metal electrodes, causing actin filaments to be attracted and suspended in the gap between them.
  • They measured the variance of each filament's lateral displacement, finding it decreased with increasing electric field intensity.
  • The study proposes a new technique for trapping and manipulating biological filaments, aiding in the investigation of single polymer conductance and mechanical properties.

Article Abstract

When an AC electric field was applied across a small gap between two metal electrodes elevated above a surface, rhodamine-phalloidin-labeled actin filaments were attracted to the gap and became suspended between the two electrodes. The variance of each filament's horizontal, lateral displacement was measured as a function of electric field intensity and position along the filament. markedly decreased as the electric field intensity increased. Hypothesizing that the electric field induces tension in the filament, we estimated the tension using a linear, Brownian dynamic model. Our experimental method provides a novel means for trapping and manipulating biological filaments and for probing the surface conductance and mechanical properties of single polymers.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1989696PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1529/biophysj.107.114538DOI Listing

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