The main goal of the Small Biosystems Lab is to combine advanced experimental techniques and theoretical knowledge to address questions related to energy processes in the nano-scale. The main research lines are single-molecule biophysics and non-equilibrium physics. The research developed has spanned the study of intermolecular interactions (such as peptides and proteins binding to DNA), intramolecular interactions (DNA hybridization, DNA, RNA and protein folding) and fundamental research in nonequilibrium physics of molecular systems, where Brownian fluctuations rule energy, entropy and information flows. The group has also demonstrated the power of combining nonequilibrium physics theories and single molecule methods to extract ligand-DNA binding free energies and binding sites by mechanically footprinting DNA with unprecedented accuracy. Their research is now moving towards information-work energy conversion and how to define thermodynamic information in nonequilibrium processes under feedback control and mutational molecular ensembles.
Two recent developments will expand future research in the group. First, the optical tweezers with temperature controller that operates in the range 5-40ºC. This permits to measure enthalpy and entropy differences down to the single weak molecular bond accuracy (1kcal/mol) improving the knowledge of nucleic acids thermodynamics. Second, a new line of research based on electrical measurements of single molecule translocation across nanopores (using glass pipette nanochannels) is now available in the lab. The new electrical setup combined with optical tweezers allows for controlled molecular translocation through electrical and force measurements, offering a potentially useful tool for single molecule sequencing.
