Single-Molecule Micromanipulation Techniques

Single-molecule micromanipulation techniques traditionally have been developed for biophysical applications, but they are being increasingly employed in materials science applications such as rheology and polymer dynamics. Continuing developments and improvements in single-molecule manipulation techniques afford new opportunities in a broad range of fields. In this review we present an overview of current single-molecule manipulation techniques, with an emphasis on optical and magnetic tweezers, followed by a description of the elastic properties of single biopolymers. We then review the use of micromanipulation techniques to locally probe material properties. To provide some insight into biophysical questions addressed by these techniques, we describe two applications, which further serve to illustrate the power and versatility of single-molecule micromanipulation techniques. We conclude with a brief discussion of emerging applications and techniques.