Investigating the Conformational Dynamics of Biomolecules using Optical Tweezers

• Author / Creator

  Soong, JingChyuan

• The structural dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids play a vital role in biochemical reactions. We employed novel optical tweezers to study the programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting, where the conformational plasticity of a SARS pseudoknot with a bound ligand is shown to be correlated to the frameshifting efficiency. We also investigated a mechanical model for components involved in optical tweezers, and tested their validity through a series of measurements.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Optical Tweezers

• Graduation date

  Fall 2014

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R39K46199

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.