Department of Chemistry, Yale University , 350 Edwards St., New Haven, Connecticut 06520, United States.
Nano Lett. 2017 Nov 8;17(11):6598-6605. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02413. Epub 2017 Oct 17.
Observation at the single molecule level has been a revolutionary tool for molecular biophysics and materials science, but single molecule studies of solution-phase chemistry are less widespread. In this work we develop an experimental platform for solution-phase single molecule force spectroscopy in organic solvents. This optical-tweezer-based platform was designed for broad chemical applicability and utilizes optically trapped core-shell microspheres, synthetic polymer tethers, and click chemistry linkages formed in situ. We have observed stable optical trapping of the core-shell microspheres in ten different solvents, and single molecule link formation in four different solvents. These experiments demonstrate how to use optical tweezers for single molecule force application in the study of solution-phase chemistry.
在分子生物物理学和材料科学领域，单分子观测已经成为一种革命性的工具，但对溶液相化学的单分子研究则相对较少。在这项工作中，我们开发了一种用于有机溶剂中溶液相单分子力谱学的实验平台。这个基于光镊的平台设计用于广泛的化学适用性，并利用光俘获核壳微球、合成聚合物系链和原位形成的点击化学连接。我们已经观察到在十种不同溶剂中对核壳微球的稳定光俘获，以及在四种不同溶剂中单分子连接的形成。这些实验展示了如何在溶液相化学研究中使用光镊对单分子施加力。
