Advances in correlative tweezers fluorescence microscopy (Conference Presentation)

Understanding the fundamental processes of life and disease ultimately requires an understanding of interactions at the molecular scale. While breakthroughs in structural biology have led to a wealth of images of molecular interactions at near-atomic detail (e.g. motor proteins interacting with microtubules or DNA replication complexes) these images are static snapshots. To truely understand complex processes we need to be able to study dynamical interactions at the single molecule scale. Optical tweezers are an ideal tool to manipulate and study these dynamical interactions and especially when combined with advanced imaging techniques allow scientists to directly observe complex biomolecular processes in real-time. We will present the latest developments in correlative tweezers fluorescence microscopy (CTFM) and illustrate how at Lumicks we develop turn-key instruments that can become standard tools in the biologist toolkit. By carefully analysing market segments we identified what are the key specifications for our customers. With measurements and simulations we will illustrate how precisely key specifications such as force detection drift, trap-trap distance drift and acquisition speed translate into impact on data quality.