Exploring early time points of vimentin assembly in flow by fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy
2021-02-21 | journal article; research paper. A publication with affiliation to the University of Göttingen.
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- Authors
- Perego, Eleonora; Köster, Sarah
- Abstract
- Despite the importance for cellular processes, the dynamics of molecular assembly, especially on fast time scales, is not yet fully understood. To this end, we present a multi-layer microfluidic device and combine it with fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy. We apply this innovative combination of methods to investigate the early steps in assembly of vimentin intermediate filaments (IFs). These filaments, together with actin filaments and microtubules, constitute the cytoskeleton of cells of mesenchymal origin and greatly influence their mechanical properties. We are able to directly follow the two-step assembly process of vimentin IFs and quantify the time scale of the first lateral step to tens of ms with a lag time of below 3 ms. Although demonstrated for a specific biomolecular system here, our method may potentially be employed for a wide range of fast molecular reactions in biological or, more generally, soft matter systems, as it allows for a precise quantification of the kinetics underlying the aggregation and assembly.
- Issue Date
- 21-February-2021
- Journal
- Lab on a Chip
- Project
- EXC 2067: Multiscale Bioimaging
SFB 1286: Quantitative Synaptologie
SFB 1286 | B02: Ein in vitro-Verfahren zum Verständnis der struktur-organisierenden Rolle des Vesikel-Clusters - Organization
- Institut für Röntgenphysik
- Working Group
- RG Köster (Cellular Biophysics)
- ISSN
- 1473-0197
- eISSN
- 1473-0189
- Language
- English
- Subject(s)
- cytoskeleton; molecular biophysics; microfluidics