Bustamante Carlos, Chemla Yann R, Moffitt Jeffrey R
Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2009 Oct;2009(10):pdb.ip72. doi: 10.1101/pdb.ip72.
Optical traps or "optical tweezers" have become an indispensable tool in understanding fundamental biological processes. The ability to manipulate and probe individual molecules or molecular complexes has led to a new, more refined understanding of the mechanical properties of the fundamental building blocks of the cell, and of the mechanism by which molecular machines function. The minimization and management of noise are the keys to building a high-resolution optical tweezers. The high degree of stability needed to observe angstrom motions of a biological system places rather stringent requirements on the environment in which the instrument operates. Specifically, environmental noise is a concern when it leads to differential movements of the optical trap relative to the second attachment point of the tether. In this article, we discuss what entails a quiet environment--what sources of noise are relevant and how they affect the instrument--and provide guidelines for choosing an appropriate location for a high-resolution instrument.
光镊，即“光学镊子”，已成为理解基本生物学过程中不可或缺的工具。操纵和探测单个分子或分子复合物的能力，使人们对细胞基本构建单元的机械特性以及分子机器的运作机制有了全新的、更精确的认识。噪声的最小化和管理是构建高分辨率光镊的关键。观察生物系统埃级运动所需的高度稳定性，对仪器运行的环境提出了相当严格的要求。具体而言，当环境噪声导致光镊相对于系链的第二个附着点产生差异运动时，就会成为一个问题。在本文中，我们讨论了安静环境的要求——哪些噪声源是相关的以及它们如何影响仪器——并提供了为高分辨率仪器选择合适位置的指导原则。
