Modelling of the dynamic polarizability of macromolecules for single-molecule optical biosensing

Abstract

The structural dynamics of macromolecules is important for most microbiological processes, from protein folding to the origins of neurodegenerative disorders. Noninvasive measurements of these dynamics are highly challenging. Recently, optical sensors have been shown to allow noninvasive time-resolved measurements of the dynamic polarizability of single-molecules. Here we introduce a method to efficiently predict the dynamic polarizability from the atomic configuration of a given macromolecule. This provides a means to connect the measured dynamic polarizability to the underlying structure of the molecule, and therefore to connect temporal measurements to structural dynamics. To illustrate the methodology we calculate the change in polarizability as a function of time based on conformations extracted from molecular dynamics simulations and using different conformations of motor proteins solved crystalographically. This allows us to quantify the magnitude of the changes in polarizablity due to thermal and functional motions.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 07, 2022
Source ID
10.1038/s41598-022-05586-0

Entities

People

  • Alan Mark
  • Eloise V. Browne
  • Larnii S. Booth
  • Lars S. Madsen
  • Nicolas P. Mauranyapin
  • Shelley Barfoot
  • Warwick P. Bowen

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Tags

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Military/Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technology
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology