1. |
- Lubart, Quentin, 1989, et al.
(author)
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High throughput size-determination and multiplexed fluorescence analysis of single biological particles in a nanofluidic device
- 2019
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In: 23rd International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2019. ; , s. 1420-1421
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biological nanoparticles, such as exosomes and viruses, are responsible for a multitude of important functions, but methods to characterize them on the single particle level are rare. We here present a nanofluidic platform for multi-parametric characterization of biological nanoparticles with high throughput. The device consists of feeding microchannels and an array of ~100 nanochannels where the nanoparticles can be characterized. We determine the size by analyzing the Brownian motion of the particles and quantify their content based on fluorescence imaging of up to three different colors. We successfully benchmark our method against existing techniques, such as Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA).
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2. |
- Syrenova, Svetlana, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Hydride formation thermodynamics and hysteresis in individual Pd nanocrystals with different size and shape
- 2015
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In: Nature Materials. - 1476-4660 .- 1476-1122. ; 14:12, s. 1236-1244
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Physicochemical properties of nanoparticles may depend on their size and shape and are traditionally assessed in ensemble-level experiments, which accordingly may be plagued by averaging effects. These effects can be eliminated in single-nanoparticle experiments. Using plasmonic nanospectroscopy, we present a comprehensive study of hydride formation thermodynamics in individual Pd nanocrystals of different size and shape, and find corresponding enthalpies and entropies to be nearly size- and shape-independent. The hysteresis observed is significantly wider than in bulk, with details depending on the specifics of individual nanoparticles. Generally, the absorption branch of the hysteresis loop is size-dependent in the sub-30 nm regime, whereas desorption is size- and shape-independent. The former is consistent with a coherent phase transition during hydride formation, influenced kinetically by the specifics of nucleation, whereas the latter implies that hydride decomposition either occurs incoherently or via different kinetic pathways.
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3. |
- Friedrich, R., et al.
(author)
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A nano flow cytometer for single lipid vesicle analysis
- 2017
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In: Lab on a Chip - Miniaturisation for Chemistry and Biology. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1473-0189 .- 1473-0197. ; 17:5, s. 830-841
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a nanofluidic device for fluorescence-based detection and characterization of small lipid vesicles on a single particle basis. The device works like a nano flow cytometer where individual vesicles are visualized by fluorescence microscopy while passing through parallel nanochannels in a pressure-driven flow. An experiment requires less than 20 mu l sample volume to quantify both the vesicle content and the fluorescence signals emitted by individual vesicles. We show that the device can be used to accurately count the number of fluorescent synthetic lipid vesicles down to a vesicle concentration of 170 fM. We also show that the size-distribution of the vesicles can be resolved from their fluorescence intensity distribution after calibration. We demonstrate the applicability of the assay in two different examples. In the first, we use the nanofluidic device to determine the particle concentration in a sample containing cell-derived extracellular vesicles labelled with a lipophilic dye. In the second, we demonstrate that dual-color detection can be used to probe peptide binding to synthetic lipid vesicles; we identify a positive membrane-curvature sensing behavior of an arginine enriched version of the Antennapedia homeodomain peptide penetratin. Altogether, these results illustrate the potential of this nanofluidic-based methodology for characterization and quantification of small biological vesicles and their interactors without ensemble averaging. The device is therefore likely to find use as a quantitative analytical tool in a variety of fields ranging from diagnostics to fundamental biology research. Moreover, our results have potential to facilitate further development of automated lab-on-a-chip devices for vesicle analysis.
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4. |
- Levin, Sune, 1991, et al.
(author)
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A nanofluidic device for parallel single nanoparticle catalysis in solution
- 2019
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723 .- 2041-1723. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studying single catalyst nanoparticles, during reaction, eliminates averaging effects that are an inherent limitation of ensemble experiments. It enables establishing structure-function correlations beyond averaged properties by including particle-specific descriptors such as defects, chemical heterogeneity and microstructure. Driven by these prospects, several single particle catalysis concepts have been implemented. However, they all have limitations such as low throughput, or that they require very low reactant concentrations and/or reaction rates. In response, we present a nanofluidic device for highly parallelized single nanoparticle catalysis in solution, based on fluorescence microscopy. Our device enables parallel scrutiny of tens of single nanoparticles, each isolated inside its own nanofluidic channel, and at tunable reaction conditions, ranging from the fully mass transport limited regime to the surface reaction limited regime. In a wider perspective, our concept provides a versatile platform for highly parallelized single particle catalysis in solution and constitutes a promising application area for nanofluidics.
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5. |
- Alizadehheidari, Mohammadreza, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Nanoconfined Circular and Linear DNA: Equilibrium Conformations and Unfolding Kinetics
- 2015
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In: Macromolecules. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0024-9297 .- 1520-5835. ; 48:3, s. 871-878
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studies of circular DNA confined to nanofluidic channels are relevant both from a fundamental polymer-physics perspective and due to the importance of circular DNA molecules in vivo. We here observe the unfolding of confined DNA from the circular to linear configuration as a light-induced double-strand break occurs, characterize the dynamics, and compare the equilibrium conformational statistics of linear and circular configurations. This is important because it allows us to determine to what extent existing statistical theories describe the extension of confined circular DNA. We find that the ratio of the extensions of confined linear and circular DNA configurations increases as the buffer concentration decreases. The experimental results fall between theoretical predictions for the extended de Gennes regime at weaker confinement and the Odijk regime at stronger confinement. We show that it is possible to directly distinguish between circular and linear DNA molecules by measuring the emission intensity from the DNA. Finally, we determine the rate of unfolding and show that this rate is larger for more confined DNA, possibly reflecting the corresponding larger difference in entropy between the circular and linear configurations.
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6. |
- Alizadehheidari, Mohammadreza, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Unfolding of nanoconfined circular DNA
- 2015
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In: BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 108:2 Supplement 1
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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7. |
- Dvirnas, Albertas, et al.
(author)
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Facilitated sequence assembly using densely labeled optical DNA barcodes: A combinatorial auction approach
- 2018
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In: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 13:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The output from whole genome sequencing is a set of contigs, i.e. short non-overlapping DNA sequences (sizes 1-100 kilobasepairs). Piecing the contigs together is an especially difficult task for previously unsequenced DNA, and may not be feasible due to factors such as the lack of sufficient coverage or larger repetitive regions which generate gaps in the final sequence. Here we propose a new method for scaffolding such contigs. The proposed method uses densely labeled optical DNA barcodes from competitive binding experiments as scaffolds. On these scaffolds we position theoretical barcodes which are calculated from the contig sequences. This allows us to construct longer DNA sequences from the contig sequences. This proof-of-principle study extends previous studies which use sparsely labeled DNA barcodes for scaffolding purposes. Our method applies a probabilistic approach that allows us to discard "foreign" contigs from mixed samples with contigs from different types of DNA. We satisfy the contig non-overlap constraint by formulating the contig placement challenge as a combinatorial auction problem. Our exact algorithm for solving this problem reduces computational costs compared to previous methods in the combinatorial auction field. We demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed scaffolding method both for synthetic contigs and for contigs obtained using Illumina sequencing for a mixed sample with plasmid and chromosomal DNA.
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8. |
- Fornander, Louise, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Visualizing the Nonhomogeneous Structure of RAD51 Filaments Using Nanofluidic Channels
- 2016
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In: Langmuir. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 32:33, s. 8403-8412
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- RAD51 is the key component of the homologous recombination pathway in eukaryotic cells and performs its task by forming filaments on DNA. In this study we investigate the physical properties of RAD51 filaments formed on DNA using nanofluidic channels and fluorescence microscopy. Contrary to the bacterial ortholog RecA, RAD51 forms inhomogeneous filaments on long DNA in vitro, consisting of several protein patches. We demonstrate that a permanent "kink" in the filament is formed where two patches meet if the stretch of naked DNA between the patches is short. The kinks are readily seen in the present microscopy approach but would be hard to identify using conventional single DNA molecule techniques where the DNA is more stretched. We also demonstrate that protein patches separated by longer stretches of bare DNA roll up on each other and this is visualized as transiently overlapping filaments. RAD51 filaments can be formed at several different conditions, varying the cation (Mg2+ or Ca2+), the DNA substrate (single-stranded or double-stranded), and the RAD51 concentration during filament nucleation, and we compare the properties of the different filaments formed. The results provide important information regarding the physical properties of RAD51 filaments but also demonstrate that nanofluidic channels are perfectly suited to study protein-DNA complexes.
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9. |
- Fritzsche, Joachim, 1977, et al.
(author)
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Single Particle Nanoplasmonic Sensing in Individual Nanofluidic Channels
- 2016
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In: Nano Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1530-6992 .- 1530-6984. ; 16:12, s. 7857-7864
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nanoplasmonics allows label-free optical sensing and spectroscopy at the single nanoparticle level by exploiting plasmonic excitations in metal nanoparticles. Nanofluidics offers exclusive possibilities for applying and controlling fluid flow and mass transport at the nanoscale and toward nanosized objects. Here, we combine these two concepts in a single device, by integrating single particle nanoplasmonic sensing with nanofluidics using advanced nanofabrication. The developed devices enable on-chip referenced parallel single particle nanoplasmonic sensing inside multiple individual nanofluidic channels with dimensions down to the 100 nm range. Beyond detailed discussion of the nanofabrication, general device characterization, and parallelized single particle plasmonic readout concepts, we demonstrate device function on two examples: (i) in situ measurements of local buffer concentrations inside a nanofluidic channel; (ii) real time binding kinetics of alkanethiol molecules to a single plasmonic nanonatenna sensor in a single nanochannel. Our concept thus provides a powerful solution for controlling mass transport to and from individual (plasmonic) nanoparticles, which in a long-term perspective offers unique opportunities for label-free detection of analyte molecules at low concentrations and for fundamental studies of fluids in extreme confinement.
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10. |
- Jiang, Kai, 1988, et al.
(author)
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Annealing of ssDNA and compaction of dsDNA by the HIV-1 nucleocapsid and Gag proteins visualized using nanofluidic channels
- 2019
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In: Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics. - 1469-8994 .- 0033-5835. ; 52, s. e2-e2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The nucleocapsid protein NC is a crucial component in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 life cycle. It functions both in its processed mature form and as part of the polyprotein Gag that plays a key role in the formation of new viruses. NC can protect nucleic acids (NAs) from degradation by compacting them to a dense coil. Moreover, through its NA chaperone activity, NC can also promote the most stable conformation of NAs. Here, we explore the balance between these activities for NC and Gag by confining DNA-protein complexes in nanochannels. The chaperone activity is visualized as concatemerization and circularization of long DNA via annealing of short single-stranded DNA overhangs. The first ten amino acids of NC are important for the chaperone activity that is almost completely absent for Gag. Gag condenses DNA more efficiently than mature NC, suggesting that additional residues of Gag are involved. Importantly, this is the first single DNA molecule study of full-length Gag and we reveal important differences to the truncated Δ-p6 Gag that has been used before. In addition, the study also highlights how nanochannels can be used to study reactions on ends of long single DNA molecules, which is not trivial with competing single DNA molecule techniques.
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