Unleashing Urease Protein Dynamics with Metamaterial Optical Tweezers
Abstract
Investigating the dynamics of single biomolecules is essential for unlocking new frontiers in biophysics and medicine. Here, we present a transformative approach using metamaterial optical tweezers to trap and study individual urease molecules - an enzyme that catalyzes urea hydrolysis and serves as a key biomarker for pathogenic infections. By generating thermally induced drifts and rapid hydrodynamic flows with optically induced local temperature fields at the metamaterial/water interface, we achieve unprecedented guidance and control over single urease molecules at low trapping laser intensities of 0.13~mW/{\mu}m^2 facilitating their precise delivery to plasmonic hotspots. The interplay of thermophoresis, thermo-osmosis and depletion forces shapes the trapping potential, enabling real-time observation of ureases` conformational changes and interactions with the environment. This innovative approach not only enhances our understanding of enzyme dynamics but also paves the way for label-free characterization of biomolecules, ushering in a new era in life sciences and nanotechnology.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2402.12878,
title = {Unleashing Urease Protein Dynamics with Metamaterial Optical Tweezers},
author = {Domna G. Kotsifaki and Viet Giang Truong and Mirco Dindo and Frank Cichos and Paolo Laurino and Sile Nic Chormaic},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.12878},
year = {2025}
}