hide
Free keywords:
-
Abstract:
Optical tweezers are a versatile tool in biophysics and have matured from a tool of
manipulation to a tool of precise measurements. We argue here that the data analysis
with advantage can be developed to a level of sophistication that matches that of the
instrument. We review methods of analysis of optical tweezers data, primarily based on
the power spectra of time series of positions for trapped spherical objects. The majority of
precise studies in the literature are performed on in vitro systems, whereas in the present
work, an example of an in vivo system is presented for which precise power spectral
analysis is both useful and necessary. The biological system is the cytoplasm of ssion
yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe in which we observe subdi usion of lipid granules.
In a search for the cause of subdi usion, we chemically disrupt the actin network in
the cytoplasm and further consider in vitro networks of lamenteous actin undergoing
similar chemical disruption.
