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Force spectroscopy is a set of techniques for the study of the binding forces between individual molecules. These methods can be used to measure the mechanical properties of single polymer molecules or proteins, or individual chemical bonds. The name "force spectroscopy", although widely used in the scientific community, is somewhat misleading, because there is no true matter-radiation interaction. Techniques that can be used to perform force spectroscopy include atomic force microscopy,〔 optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers, acoustic force spectroscopy, microneedles, and biomembranes. Force spectroscopy measures the behavior of a molecule under stretching or torsional mechanical force. In this way a great deal has been learned in recent years about the mechanochemical coupling in the enzymes responsible for muscle contraction, transport in the cell, energy generation (F1-ATPase), DNA replication and transcription (polymerases), DNA unknotting and unwinding (topoisomerases and helicases). As a single-molecule technique, as opposed to typical ensemble spectroscopies, it allows a researcher to determine properties of the particular molecule under study. In particular, rare events such as conformational change, which are masked in an ensemble, may be observed. ==Experimental techniques== There are many ways to accurately manipulate single molecules. Prominent among these are optical or magnetic tweezers and atomic-force-microscope (AFM) cantilevers. In all of these techniques, a biomolecule, such as protein or DNA, or some other biopolymer has one end bound to a surface and the other to a force sensor. The force sensor is usually a micrometre-sized bead or a cantilever, whose displacement can be measured to determine the force. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「force spectroscopy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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