This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2022R1C1C1012176, NRF-2021R1A4A1031754, and NRF- 2021R1A6A1A10042944). S.-H.R. was supported by the NRF grant (2021R1C1C2009717).

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

In this work, we introduced a single-molecule force spectroscopy setup that can observe structural changes of biomolecules at high spatiotemporal precision. The high-speed CMOS camera used acquires 1,200 frames s&#8722;1 at 1,280 x 1,024 resolution, enabling 1.2 kHz bead tracking. However, the speed of measurements is currently limited by the bead tracking software, so the ROI is typically reduced to smaller areas in high-speed measurements. The high power of the SLD provides a bright illumination that is crit...

Cells actively sense and respond to mechanical stimuli. In doing so, many biomolecules display force-dependent properties that enable dynamic structural changes. Well-appreciated examples include mechanosensitive ion channels and cytoskeletal elements that provide the cells with key mechanical information from their surrounding environment.
In addition, molecules that show a unique force-bearing nature can also be considered mechanosensitive in a broader sense. For example, local formation and melting of nucleic acid duplexes, as well as higher-order structures such as G-quadruplexes, play crucial roles in replication, transcription, recombination, and more recently, genome editing. Moreover, some neuronal proteins involved in synaptic communications perform their functions by generating physical forces that exceed the levels of typical intermolecular interactions. No matter which example one studies, investigating nanomechanics of the involved biomolecules with high spatiotemporal precision will prove highly useful in revealing molecular mechanisms of the associated mechanobiological processes1,2,3.
Single-molecule force spectroscopy methods have served as powerful tools to examine the mechanical properties of biomolecules2,4,5,6. They can monitor structural changes in nucleic acids and proteins concurrently with the application of force, thereby examining force-dependent properties. Two well-known setups are optical tweezers and magnetic tweezers (MTs), which employ micron-sized beads to manipulate molecules5,6,7,8. In these platforms, polystyrene (for optical tweezers) or magnetic beads (for MTs) are tethered to target molecules (e.g., nucleic acids and proteins) via molecular &#34;handles&#34;, typically made of short fragments of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The beads are then moved to exert force and imaged to track their locations that report on structural changes in target molecules. Optical and magnetic tweezers are largely interchangeable in their applications, but there exist important differences in their approaches to controlling force. Optical tweezers are intrinsically position-clamp instruments that trap beads in position, because of which the applied force fluctuates when a target construct undergoes shape changes; extension increase, such as from unfolding, loosens the tether and reduces tension, and vice versa. Although active feedback can be implemented to control the force in optical tweezers, MTs in contrast naturally operate as a force-clamp device, taking advantage of stable, far-field magnetic forces by permanent magnets, which can also withstand environmental perturbation.
Despite their long history and simple design, MTs have lagged behind optical tweezers in their applications to high-precision measurements, largely because of technical challenges in fast bead tracking. Recently, however, several groups have jointly led a multi-faceted improvement of both hardware and software for MT instruments2,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19. In this work, we introduce an example of such a setup running at 1.2 kHz and describe how to use it to perform nanomechanical measurements on force-sensitive biomolecules. As model systems, we employ DNA hairpins and neuronal SNARE complexes and examine their fast, structural changes in the piconewton regime. DNA hairpins exhibit simple two-state transitions in a well-defined force range20,21, and therefore serve as toy models to verify the performance of a tweezer setup. As the SNARE proteins assemble into a force-sensitive complex that drives membrane fusion22, they have also been extensively studied by single-molecule force spectroscopy14,23,24,25. Standard approaches to analyzing data and extracting useful information on thermodynamics and kinetics are presented. We hope this article can facilitate the adoption of high-precision MTs in mechanobiological studies and motivate readers to explore their own force-sensitive systems of interest.

high-speed magnetic tweezers for nanomechanical measurements on force-sensitive elements

Single-molecule magnetic tweezers (MTs) have served as powerful tools to forcefully interrogate biomolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, and are therefore poised to be useful in the field of mechanobiology. Since the method commonly relies on image-based tracking of magnetic beads, the speed limit in recording and analyzing images, as well as the thermal fluctuations of the beads, has long hampered its application in observing small and fast structural changes in target molecules. This article describes detailed methods for the construction and operation of a high-resolution MT setup that can resolve nanoscale, millisecond dynamics of biomolecules and their complexes. As application examples, experiments with DNA hairpins and SNARE complexes (membrane-fusion machinery) are demonstrated, focusing on how their transient states and transitions can be detected in the presence of piconewton-scale forces. We expect that high-speed MTs will continue to enable high-precision nanomechanical measurements on molecules that sense, transmit, and generate forces in cells, and thereby deepen our molecular-level understanding of mechanobiology.

Force calibration 
The results from the two force measurement methods (beads&#39; lateral displacement variance and power spectrum analysis) differed by 0-2 pN (Figure 2G). According to the results in Figure 2F, we can reliably reach up to 30 pN with regular neodymium magnets.
Two-state transitions of an 8 bp DNA hairpin 
We first investigated the nanomechanics of a short DNA hairpin (<stron...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about High-Speed Magnetic Tweezers for Nanomechanical Measurements on Force-Sensitive Elements at JoVE.com

High-Speed Magnetic Tweezers for Nanomechanical Measurements on Force-Sensitive Elements

Here, we describe a high-speed magnetic tweezer setup that performs nanomechanical measurements on force-sensitive biomolecules at the maximum rate of 1.2 kHz. We introduce its application to DNA hairpins and SNARE complexes as model systems, but it will be also applicable to other molecules involved in mechanobiological events.

Single-molecule magnetic tweezers (MTs) have served as powerful tools to forcefully interrogate biomolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, and are ...

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Biochemistry

1.9K Views.  Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). Here, we describe a high-speed magnetic tweezer setup that performs nanomechanical measurements on force-sensitive biomolecules at the maximum rate of 1.2 kHz. We introduce its application to DNA hairpins and SNARE complexes as model systems, but it will be also applicable to other molecules involved in mechanobiological events. 

Video: High-Speed Magnetic Tweezers for Nanomechanical Measurements on Force-Sensitive Elements

Single-molecule Manipulation of G-quadruplexes by Magnetic Tweezers

Non-canonical nucleic acid secondary structure G-quadruplexes (G4) are involved in diverse cellular processes, such as DNA replication, transcription, RNA processing, and telomere elongation. During these processes, various proteins bind and resolve G4 structures to perform their function. As the function of G4 often depends on the stability of its folded structure, it is important to investigate how G4 binding proteins regulate the stability of G4. This work presents a method to manipulate single G4 molecules using magnetic tweezers, which enables studies of the regulation of G4 binding proteins on a single G4 molecule in real time. In general, this method is suitable for a wide scope of applications in studies for proteins/ligands interactions and regulations on various DNA or RNA secondary structures.

A single-molecule magnetic tweezers platform to manipulate G-quadruplexes is reported, which allows for the study of G4 stability and regulation by various proteins.

Non-canonical nucleic acid secondary structure G-quadruplexes (G4) are involved in diverse cellular processes, such as DNA replication, transcription, RNA ...

A Simple Method for High Throughput Chemical Screening in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a useful organism for testing chemical effects on physiology. Whole organism small molecule screens offer significant advantages for identifying biologically active chemical structures that can modify complex phenotypes such as lifespan. Described here is a simple protocol for producing hundreds of 96-well culture plates with fairly consistent numbers of C. elegans in each well. Next, we specified how to use these cultures to screen thousands of chemicals for effects on the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. This protocol makes use of temperature sensitive sterile strains, agar plate conditions, and simple animal handling to facilitate the rapid and high throughput production of synchronized animal cultures for screening.

A Simple Method for High Throughput Chemical Screening in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Here we describe a simple protocol for rapidly producing hundreds of nematode growth media agar, 96-well culture plates with consistent numbers of Caenorhhabditis elegans per well. These cultures are useful for the phenotypic screening of whole organisms. We focus here on using these cultures to screen chemicals for pro-longevity effects.

Caenorhabditis elegans is a useful organism for testing chemical effects on physiology. Whole organism small molecule screens offer significant advantages ...

Cell Fractionation of U937 Cells in the Absence of High-speed Centrifugation

In this protocol we detail a method to obtain subcellular fractions of U937 cells without the use of ultracentrifugation or indiscriminate detergents. This method utilizes hypotonic buffers, digitonin, mechanical lysis and differential centrifugation to isolate the cytoplasm, mitochondria and plasma membrane. The process can be scaled to accommodate the needs of researchers, is inexpensive and straightforward. This method will allow researchers to determine protein localization in cells without specialized centrifuges and without the use of commercial kits, both of which can be prohibitively expensive. We have successfully used this method to separate cytosolic, plasma membrane and mitochondrial proteins in the human monocyte cell line U937.

Here, we present a protocol to isolate the plasma membrane, cytoplasm and mitochondria of U937 cells without the use of high-speed centrifugation. This technique can be used to purify subcellular fractions for subsequent examination of protein localization via immunoblotting.

In this protocol we detail a method to obtain subcellular fractions of U937 cells without the use of ultracentrifugation or indiscriminate detergents. ...

Preparation of Fungal and Plant Materials for Structural Elucidation Using Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Solid-State NMR

This protocol shows how uniformly 13C, 15N-labeled fungal materials can be produced and how these soft materials should be proceeded for solid-state NMR and sensitivity-enhanced DNP experiments. The sample processing procedure of plant biomass is also detailed. This method allows the measurement of a series of 1D and 2D 13C-13C/15N correlations spectra, which enables high-resolution structural elucidation of complex biomaterials in their native state, with minimal perturbation. The isotope-labeling can be examined by quantifying the intensity in 1D spectra and the polarization transfer efficiency in 2D correlation spectra. The success of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) sample preparation can be evaluated by the sensitivity enhancement factor. Further experiments examining the structural aspects of the polysaccharides and proteins will lead to a model of the three-dimensional architecture. These methods can be modified and adapted to investigate a wide range of carbohydrate-rich materials, including the natural cell walls of plants, fungi, algae and bacteria, as well as synthesized or designed carbohydrate polymers and their complex with other molecules.

A protocol for preparing 13C,15N-labeled fungal and plant samples for multidimensional solid-state NMR spectroscopy and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) investigations is presented.

This protocol shows how uniformly 13C, 15N-labeled fungal materials can be produced and how these soft materials should be proceeded for solid-state NMR ...

Ultra-High-Speed Western Blot using Immunoreaction Enhancing Technology

A western blot (also known as an immunoblot) is a canonical method for biomedical research. It is commonly used to determine the relative size and abundance of specific proteins as well as post-translational protein modifications. This technique has a rich history and remains in widespread use due to its simplicity. However, the western blotting procedure famously takes hours, even days, to complete, with a critical bottleneck being the long incubation times that limit its throughput. These incubation steps are required due to the slow diffusion of antibodies from the bulk solution to the immobilized antigens on the membrane: the antibody concentration near the membrane is much lower than the bulk concentration. Here, we present an innovation that dramatically reduces these incubation intervals by improving antigen binding via cyclic draining and replenishing (CDR) of the antibody solution. We also utilized an immunoreaction enhancing technology to preserve the sensitivity of the assay. A combination of the CDR method with a commercial immunoreaction enhancing agent boosted the output signal and substantially reduced the antibody incubation time. The resulting ultra-high-speed western blot can be accomplished in 20 minutes without any loss in sensitivity. This method can be applied to western blots using both chemiluminescent and fluorescent detection. This simple protocol allows researchers to better explore the analysis of protein expression in many samples.

An ultra-high-speed western blotting technique is developed by improving the kinetics of antigen-antibody binding through cyclic draining and replenishing (CDR) technology in conjunction with an immunoreaction enhancing agent.

A western blot (also known as an immunoblot) is a canonical method for biomedical research. It is commonly used to determine the relative size and ...

Removal and Replacement of Endogenous Ligands from Lipid-Bound Proteins and Allergens

Many major allergens bind to hydrophobic lipid-like molecules, including Mus m 1, Bet v 1, Der p 2, and Fel d 1. These ligands are strongly retained and have the potential to influence the sensitization process either through directly stimulating the immune system or altering the biophysical properties of the allergenic protein. In order to control for these variables, techniques are required for the removal of endogenously bound ligands and, if necessary, replacement with lipids of known composition. The cockroach allergen Bla g 1 encloses a large hydrophobic cavity which binds a heterogeneous mixture of endogenous lipids when purified using traditional techniques. Here, we describe a method through which these lipids are removed using reverse-phase HPLC followed by thermal annealing to yield Bla g 1 in either its Apo-form or reloaded with a user-defined mixture of fatty acid or phospholipid cargoes. Coupling this protocol with biochemical assays reveal that fatty acid cargoes significantly alter the thermostability and proteolytic resistance of Bla g 1, with downstream implications for the rate of T-cell epitope generation and allergenicity. These results highlight the importance of lipid removal/reloading protocols such as the one described herein when studying allergens from both recombinant and natural sources. The protocol is generalizable to other allergen families including lipocalins (Mus m 1), PR-10 (Bet v 1), MD-2 (Der p 2) and Uteroglobin (Fel d 1), providing a valuable tool to study the role of lipids in the allergic response.

This protocol describes the removal of endogenous lipids from allergens, and their replacement with user-specified ligands through reverse-phase HPLC coupled with thermal annealing. 31P-NMR and circular dichroism allow for the rapid confirmation of ligand removal/loading, and the recovery of native allergen structure.

Many major allergens bind to hydrophobic lipid-like molecules, including Mus m 1, Bet v 1, Der p 2, and Fel d 1. These ligands are strongly retained and ...

NMR-Based Fragment Screening in a Minimum Sample but Maximum Automation Mode

Fragment-based screening (FBS) is a well-validated and accepted concept within the drug discovery process both in academia and industry. The greatest advantage of NMR-based fragment screening is its ability not only to detect binders over 7-8 orders of magnitude of affinity but also to monitor purity and chemical quality of the fragments and thus to produce high quality hits and minimal false positives or false negatives. A prerequisite within the FBS is to perform initial and periodic quality control of the fragment library, determining solubility and chemical integrity of the fragments in relevant buffers, and establishing multiple libraries to cover diverse scaffolds to accommodate various macromolecule target classes (proteins/RNA/DNA). Further, an extensive NMR-based screening protocol optimization with respect to sample quantities, speed of acquisition and analysis at the level of biological construct/fragment-space, in condition-space (buffer, additives, ions, pH, and temperature) and in ligand-space (ligand analogues, ligand concentration) is required. At least in academia, these screening efforts have so far been undertaken manually in a very limited fashion, leading to limited availability of screening infrastructure not only in the drug development process but also in the context of chemical probe development. In order to meet the requirements economically, advanced workflows are presented. They take advantage of the latest state-of-the-art advanced hardware, with which the liquid sample collection can be filled in a temperature-controlled fashion into the NMR-tubes in an automated manner. 1H/19F NMR ligand-based spectra are then collected at a given temperature. High-throughput sample changer (HT sample changer) can handle more than 500 samples in temperature-controlled blocks. This together with advanced software tools speeds up data acquisition and analysis. Further, application of screening routines on protein and RNA samples are described to make aware of the established protocols for a broad user base in biomacromolecular research.

Fragment-based screening by NMR is a robust method to rapidly identify small molecule binders to biomacromolecules (DNA, RNA, or proteins). Protocols describing automation-based sample preparation, NMR experiments &#38; acquisition conditions, and analysis workflows are presented. The technique allows for optimal exploitation of both 1H and 19F NMR-active nuclei for detection.

Fragment-based screening (FBS) is a well-validated and accepted concept within the drug discovery process both in academia and industry. The greatest ...

Making Precise and Accurate Single-Molecule FRET Measurements using the Open-Source smfBox

The smfBox is a recently developed cost-effective, open-source instrument for single-molecule F&#246;rster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET), which makes measurements on freely diffusing biomolecules more accessible. This overview includes a step-by-step protocol for using this instrument to make measurements of precise FRET efficiencies in duplex DNA samples, including details of the sample preparation, instrument setup and alignment, data acquisition, and complete analysis routines. The presented approach, which includes how to determine all the correction factors required for accurate FRET-derived distance measurements, builds on a large body of recent collaborative work across the FRET Community, which aims to establish standard protocols and analysis approaches. This protocol, which is easily adaptable to a range of biomolecular systems, adds to the growing efforts in democratising smFRET for the wider scientific community.

This article provides step-by-step instructions for making fully-corrected accurate FRET measurements on individual, freely diffusing biomolecules using the open-source, inexpensive smfBox, from switch on, through alignment and focusing, to data collection and analysis.

The smfBox is a recently developed cost-effective, open-source instrument for single-molecule F&#246;rster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET), which makes ...

Nano-Differential Scanning Fluorimetry for Screening in Fragment-based Lead Discovery

Thermal shift assays (TSAs) examine how the melting temperature (Tm) of a target protein changes in response to changes in its environment (e.g., buffer composition). The utility of TSA, and specifically of nano-Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (nano-DSF), has been established over the years, both for finding conditions that help stabilize a specific protein and for looking at ligand binding by monitoring changes in the apparent Tm. This paper presents an efficient screening of the Diamond-SGC-iNEXT Poised (DSi-Poised) fragment library (768 compounds) by the use of nano-DSF, monitoring Tm to identify potential fragment binding. The prerequisites regarding protein quality and concentration for performing nano-DSF experiments are briefly outlined followed by a step-by-step protocol that uses a nano-liter robotic dispenser commonly used in structural biology laboratories for preparing the required samples in 96-well plates. The protocol describes how the reagent mixtures are transferred to the capillaries needed for nano-DSF measurements. In addition, this paper provides protocols to measure thermal denaturation (monitoring intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence) and aggregation (monitoring light back-scattering) and the subsequent steps for data transfer and analysis. Finally, screening experiments with three different protein targets are discussed to illustrate the use of this procedure in the context of lead discovery campaigns. The overall principle of the method described can be easily transferred to other fragment libraries or adapted to other instruments.

Monitoring changes in the melting temperature of a target protein (i.e., thermal shift assay, TSA) is an efficient method for screening fragment libraries of a few hundred compounds. We present a TSA protocol implementing robotics-assisted nano-Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (nano-DSF) for monitoring intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence and light back-scattering for fragment screening.

Thermal shift assays (TSAs) examine how the melting temperature (Tm) of a target protein changes in response to changes in its environment (e.g., buffer ...

Optical Tweezers to Study RNA-Protein Interactions in Translation Regulation

RNA adopts diverse structural folds, which are essential for its functions and thereby can impact diverse processes in the cell. In addition, the structure and function of an RNA can be modulated by various trans-acting factors, such as proteins, metabolites or other RNAs. Frameshifting RNA molecules, for instance, are regulatory RNAs located in coding regions, which direct translating ribosomes into an alternative open reading frame, and thereby act as gene switches. They may also adopt different folds after binding to proteins or other trans-factors. To dissect the role of RNA-binding proteins in translation and how they modulate RNA structure and stability, it is crucial to study the interplay and mechanical features of these RNA-protein complexes simultaneously.&#160;This work illustrates how to employ single-molecule-fluorescence-coupled optical tweezers to explore the conformational and thermodynamic landscape of RNA-protein complexes at a high resolution. As an example, the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 programmed ribosomal frameshifting element with the trans-acting factor short isoform of zinc-finger antiviral protein is elaborated. In addition, fluorescence-labeled ribosomes were monitored using the confocal unit, which would ultimately enable the study of translation elongation. The fluorescence coupled OT assay can be widely applied to explore diverse RNA-protein complexes or trans-acting factors regulating translation and could facilitate studies of RNA-based gene regulation.

This protocol presents a complete experimental workflow for studying RNA-protein interactions using optical tweezers. Several possible experimental setups are outlined including the combination of optical tweezers with confocal microscopy.