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Science 12 March 2004: Vol. 303. no. 5664, pp. 1674 - 1678 DOI: 10.1126/science.1092497
Reports
Force-Clamp Spectroscopy Monitors the Folding Trajectory of a Single Protein
Julio M. Fernandez* and
Hongbin Li
We used force-clamp atomic force micoscopy to measure the end-to-end length of the small protein ubiquitin during its folding reaction at the single-molecule level. Ubiquitin was first unfolded and extended at a high force, then the stretching force was quenched and protein folding was observed. The folding trajectories were continuous and marked by several distinct stages. The time taken to fold was dependent on the contour length of the unfolded protein and the stretching force applied during folding. The folding collapse was marked by large fluctuations in the end-to-end length of the protein, but these fluctuations vanished upon the final folding contraction. These direct observations of the complete folding trajectory of a protein provide a benchmarkto determine the physical basis of the folding reaction.
Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jfernandez{at}columbia.edu
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TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Comment on "Force-Clamp Spectroscopy Monitors the Folding Trajectory of a Single Protein"
Robert B. Best and Gerhard Hummer (22 April 2005)
Science
308 (5721), 498b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1106969]
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TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Response to Comment on "Force-Clamp Spectroscopy Monitors the Folding Trajectory of a Single Protein"
J. Brujic and J. M. Fernandez (22 April 2005)
Science
308 (5721), 498c.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1107675]
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TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Comment on "Force-Clamp Spectroscopy Monitors the Folding Trajectory of a Single Protein"
T. R. Sosnick (15 October 2004)
Science
306 (5695), 411b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1100962]
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TECHNICAL COMMENTS
Response to Comment on "Force-Clamp Spectroscopy Monitors the Folding Trajectory of a Single Protein"
Julio M. Fernandez, Hongbin Li, and Jasna Brujic (15 October 2004)
Science
306 (5695), 411c.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1102236]
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J. Brujic and J. M. Fernandez (2005)
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Response to Comment on "Force-Clamp Spectroscopy Monitors the Folding Trajectory of a Single Protein".
J. M. Fernandez, H. Li, and J. Brujic (2004)
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