Prof. Aleksandra Radenovic: Scanning Ion Conductance Spectroscopy

We invite you to the seminar of Prof. Aleksandra Radenovic.

Abstract:

In this talk, I will describe a novel single-molecule method where we engineer precise spatial and temporal control into the single-molecule experiment. We use a glass nanopore mounted on a 3D nanopositioner to spatially select molecules, deterministically tethered on a glass surface, for controlled translocations. By controlling the distance between the nanopore and the glass surface, we can actively select the region of interest on the molecule and scan it a controlled number of times and at a controlled velocity. Decreasing the velocity and averaging thousands of consecutive readings of the same molecule increases the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by two orders of magnitude compared to free translocations. We applied our method to various DNA constructs, achieving down to single nucleotide gap resolution. The spatial multiplexing combined with the sub-nanometer resolution could be used in conjunction with micro-array technologies to enable the screening of DNA, improving point-of-care devices, or enable high-density, addressable DNA data storage.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.08.511427v1

Prof. Aleksandra Radenovic is a full professor of biological engineering at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and head of the Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology. Her lab works in the research field that can be termed single-molecule biophysics. She has received her Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland.) in 2003 and a Msc. in Physics from the University of Zagreb (Croatia) in 2000. In 2010. she received a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant in 2010 and SNF Backup scheme Consolidator Grant (2015). She is also the recipient of the CCMX materials challenge award in 2016 and the Advanced ERC (2020) grant.

She develops techniques and methodologies based on optical imaging, bio-sensing and single-molecule manipulation with the aim to monitor the behavior of individual biological molecules and complexes in vitro and in live cells.

Venue:

Institute of plasma physics, U Slovanky 2525/1a, Prague 8

room No. 201, 1st floor

(Attention: not in J. Heyrovský Institute!)

We would like to thank to the Institute of plasma physics for co-operation and for providing the space for the lecture.