High-speed magnetic tweezers for mechanical characterization of biomolecules
Recent advances in single-molecule force spectroscopy enabled scientists to include mechanical force as another thermodynamic variable that can be precisely controlled. We developed high-speed, high-resolution magnetic tweezers that interrogate nucleic acids, proteins, and their complexes. Applications of these methods often revealed the unexpected force-dependent nature of a molecular interaction. Expanding the toolkit for mechanobiology, we will investigate the response of cells toward mechanical stimuli through a multiscale approach at the levels of signaling molecules, cytoskeleton, and cellular network.

Reference
- Submicrometer elasticity of double-stranded DNA revealed by precision force-extension measurements with magnetic tweezers
Min Ju Shon*†, Sang-Hyun Rah* & Tae-Young Yoon†
Sci. Adv. 5, eaav1697 (2019) - Watching helical membrane proteins fold reveals a common N-to-C-terminal folding pathway
Hyun-Kyu Choi*, Duyoung Min*, Hyunook Kang*, Min Ju Shon, Sang-Hyun Rah, Hak Chan Kim, Hawoong Jeong, Hee-Jung Choi†, James U. Bowie† & Tae-Young Yoon†
Science 366, 1150–1156 (2019) - Focused clamping of a single neuronal SNARE complex by complexin under high mechanical tension
Min Ju Shon*, Haesoo Kim* & Tae-Young Yoon†
Nat. Commun 9, 3639 (2018)