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Anti-Brownian Traps

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Encyclopedia of Biophysics

Synonyms

ABEL trap; Single-molecule methods

Introduction

Brownian motion is typically considered an inescapable attribute of small particles in free solution. This random jiggling often impedes or prohibits optical studies of the behavior of nanometer-sized objects, such as single biomolecules, because such objects quickly diffuse away from the observation region. The rate of diffusion increases with decreasing particle size, so the window of opportunity for measuring small particles is very short. Anti-Brownian traps address this challenge by partially suppressing Brownian motion: the position of a single particle is monitored, and active feedback is used to apply forces that directly counteract the observed displacements. This process confines the particle to a small region of interest (ROI), enabling extended study without surface attachment or encapsulation, both of which could perturb the particle’s behavior. A powerful single-molecule method, anti-Brownian traps have been used to...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Allison H. Squires & W. E. Moerner

  2. Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Adam E. Cohen

Authors
  1. Allison H. Squires
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  2. Adam E. Cohen
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  3. W. E. Moerner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. E. Moerner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University Leicester MRC Centre, Leicester, United Kingdom

    Gordon Roberts

  2. Dept Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Anthony Watts

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Chemistry, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Nils G. Walter

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© 2018 European Biophysical Societies' Association (EBSA)

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Squires, A.H., Cohen, A.E., Moerner, W.E. (2018). Anti-Brownian Traps. In: Roberts, G., Watts, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Biophysics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_486-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_486-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-35943-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35943-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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