(102b) Single Molecule Studies of Catenated DNA Polymers

The topology of polymer molecules plays an important role in determining their static (e.g., size and shape) and dynamic (e.g., relaxation and diffusion) properties. Recently, a class of mechanically interlinked polymers molecules called polycatenanes have received considerable attention because of their unique properties and ability to be chemically synthesized. To fully understand the physics of catenated ring networks and hence engineer them for a desired application, a model system is required wherein detailed polymer physics can be studied at the single polymer level. Nature provides such a model system in the form of giant 2D catenated ring networks called kinetoplasts - a network of thousands of catenated circular DNA. Our group has employed kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) molecules as a model system to gain insight into these new class of polymers. We leverage single-molecule fluorescence imaging combined with microfluidic manipulation and AFM to study this new class of polymers. In this talk, we present our latest findings on kDNA polymer physics.

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CBET-1936696.