Biomedical subjects

Lene Oddershede

Publications and source records attributed to Lene Oddershede.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Quantitative approach to small-scale nonequilibrium systems.

In a nanoscale system out of thermodynamic equilibrium, it is important to account for thermal fluctuations. Typically, the thermal noise contributes fluctuations, e.g., of distances that are substantial in comparison to the size of the system and typical distances measured. If the thermal fluctuations are ignored, misinterpretation of measured quantities such as interaction forces, potentials, and constants may result. Here, we consider a particle moving in a time-dependent landscape, as, e.g., in an optical tweezers or atomic force nanoscopic measurement. Based on the Kramers equation [H. A. Kramers, Physica 7, 284 (1940)], we propose an approximate but quantitative way of dealing with such an out-of-equilibrium system. The limits of this approximate description of the escape process are determined through optical tweezers experiments and comparison to simulations. Also, this serves as a recipe for how to use the proposed method to obtain knowledge about the underlying energy landscape from a set of experimental measurements. Finally, we perform estimates of the error made if thermal fluctuations are ignored.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Novel optical and statistical methods reveal colloid-wall interactions inconsistent with DLVO and Lifshitz theories.

We present an experimental method based on video microscopy to perform nanometer scale position detection of a micrometer bead in the direction along the propagation of the detection light. Using the same bead for calibration and detection significantly improves the in depth resolution in comparison to video microscopy methods from literature. This method is used together with an optical trap to measure interaction potentials between a glass surface and colloids made of polystyrene or silica at different electrolyte concentrations. The results are confirmed by an independent method where the optical trap is used in connection with a quadrant photodiode. Also, we present a maximum likelihood analysis method which considerably improves the spatial resolution of interaction potentials by optimizing the underlying potential function to fit all observed position distributions. The measured interaction potentials agree well with DLVO theory for small electrolyte concentrations; however, for larger electrolyte concentrations the potentials differ qualitatively from both DLVO and Lifshitz theory.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Expanding the optical trapping range of gold nanoparticles.

We demonstrate stable three-dimensional (3D) single-beam optical trapping of gold nanoparticles with diameters between 18 and 254 nm. Three-dimensional power spectral analysis reveals that, for nanoparticles with diameters less than 100 nm, the trap stiffness is proportional to the volume of the particle. For larger particles, the trap stiffness still increases with size, however, less steeply. Finally, we provide numbers for the largest forces exertable on gold nanoparticles.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Anomalous diffusion in living yeast cells.

The viscoelastic properties of the cytoplasm of living yeast cells were investigated by studying the motion of lipid granules naturally occurring in the cytoplasm. A large frequency range of observation was obtained by a combination of video-based and laser-based tracking methods. At time scales from 10(-4) to 10(2) s, the granules typically perform subdiffusive motion with characteristics different from previous measurements in living cells. This subdiffusive behavior is thought to be due to the presence of polymer networks and membranous structures in the cytoplasm. Consistent with this hypothesis, we observe that the motion becomes less subdiffusive upon actin disruption.

Actins↗

PubMed2004

Exponential and power-law mass distributions in brittle fragmentation.

Generic arguments, a minimal numerical model, and fragmentation experiments with gypsum disk are used to investigate the fragment-size distribution that results from dynamic brittle fragmentation. Fragmentation is initiated by random nucleation of cracks due to material inhomogeneities, and its dynamics are pictured as a process of propagating cracks that are unstable against side-branch formation. The initial cracks and side branches both merge mutually to form fragments. The side branches have a finite penetration depth as a result of inherent damping. Generic arguments imply that close to the minimum strain (or impact energy) required for fragmentation, the number of fragments of size s scales as s(-(2D-1)/D) f(1) (- (2/lambda)(D) s)+ f(2) (- s(-1 )(0 ) (lambda+ s(1/D) )(D) ), where D is the Euclidean dimension of the space, lambda is the penetration depth, and f(1) and f(2) can be approximated by exponential functions. Simulation results and experiments can both be described by this theoretical fragment-size distribution. The typical largest fragment size s(0) was found to diverge at the minimum strain required for fragmentation as it is inversely related to the density of initially formed cracks. Our results also indicate that scaling of s(0) close to this divergence depends on, e.g., loading conditions, and thus is not universal. At the same time, the density of fragment surface vanishes as L-1, L being the linear dimension of the brittle solid. The results obtained provide an explanation as to why the fragment-size distributions found in nature can have two components, an exponential as well as a power-law component, with varying relative weights.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Improved axial position detection in optical tweezers measurements.

We investigate the axial position detection of a trapped microsphere in an optical trap by using a quadrant photodiode. By replacing the photodiode with a CCD camera, we obtain detailed information on the light scattered by the microsphere. The correlation of the interference pattern with the axial position displays complex behavior with regions of positive and negative interference. By analyzing the scattered light intensity as a function of the axial position of the trapped sphere, we propose a simple method to increase the sensitivity and control the linear range of axial position detection.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

The motion of a single molecule, the lambda-receptor, in the bacterial outer membrane.

Using optical tweezers and single particle tracking, we have revealed the motion of a single protein, the lambda-receptor, in the outer membrane of living Escherichia coli bacteria. We genetically modified the lambda-receptor placing a biotin on an extracellular site of the receptor in vivo. The efficiency of this in vivo biotinylation is very low, thus enabling the attachment of a streptavidin-coated bead binding specifically to a single biotinylated lambda-receptor. The bead was used as a handle for the optical tweezers and as a marker for the single particle tracking routine. We propose a model that allows extraction of the motion of the protein from measurements of the mobility of the bead-molecule complex; these results are equally applicable to analyze bead-protein complexes in other membrane systems. Within a domain of radius approximately 25 nm, the receptor diffuses with a diffusion constant of (1.5 +/- 1.0) x 10(-9) cm(2)/s and sits in a harmonic potential as if it were tethered by an elastic spring of spring constant of ~1.0 x 10(-2) pN/nm to the bacterial membrane. The purpose of the protein motion might be to facilitate transport of maltodextrins through the outer bacterial membrane.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗