Fluorescence Microscope with Optical Tweezers and Microfluidic System

• Subject Area: Microbiology, Virology and Immunology
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 544814404

The Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) is a basic research institute in the field of epigenetics, genome stability and aging. IMB is equipped with state-of-the-art core facilities, which offer services and instrumentation to the entire scientific community in Mainz. The Microscopy and Histology Core Facility (MHCF) at IMB is well equipped but lacks a fluorescence microscope with optical tweezers and microfluidic system. The instrument will be available to all researchers in Mainz. The proposed system has four optical traps and an integrated microfluidic system, a fluorescence confocal microscope, and intuitive software that supports a wide variety of experiments. It allows simultaneous manipulation and visualization of single-molecule interactions in real-time, and it combines high-resolution optical tweezers and fluorescence microscopy with an advanced microfluidics system in a truly integrated and correlated solution. The optical tweezers can be used to trap and hold objects in place such as polystyrene beads. These beads can be coated to adhere to a variety of biomolecules (e.g. proteins, cytoskeletal filaments, DNA, or RNA). Moreover, even the smallest forces acting on these molecules can be measured, providing a tool not only to manipulate biomolecules but also to determine what is happening to them. The system is very flexible in respect to what can be bound to the polystyrene beads. It thus makes it a very versatile instrument, allowing not only the investigation of DNA/RNA-protein interactions but also of protein folding or conformational changes in proteins, cellular transport, or phase separation and mechanobiology. In Mainz, we have different research foci, such as DNA stability (SFB1361) and epigenetics, which examine the interactions of DNA and proteins. The SFB 1551, for example, is interested in phase separation. SFB-involved groups, but also a number of other groups in Mainz, will certainly benefit from having such an adaptable system available.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Fluoreszenz-Mikroskop mit optischen Pinzetten und einem Mikrofluidik-System
• Instrumentation Group: 5040 Spezielle Mikroskope (außer 500-503)
• Applicant Institution: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
• Leader: Dr. Andreas Vonderheit