Development of electromagnetic tweezers for single-molecule energetics of kinesin
Abstract
applications due to photothermal effects and refractive-index-dependent force calibration. Here, we developed electromagnetic tweezers featuring horizontal magnetic field geometry that enables force application along the microtubule axis for translational motor measurements. We validated the platform by reproducing established kinesin mechanics: stall force of ~6 pN and, using the Harada-Sasa equality to quantify nonequilibrium dissipation, an estimated energy conversion efficiency of ~20%, both consistent with optical tweezers results. We further demonstrated that FDT violations increase with ATP concentration following Michaelis-Menten kinetics, consistent with kinesin's enzymatic turnover. These results establish electromagnetic tweezers as a complementary tool offering advantages in high-throughput measurements and environment-independent force calibration, providing a foundation for future applications where these capabilities are essential.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
Mechanical and Optical Resonators
ATP Synthase and ATPases Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Biophysics and Physicobiology
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- n/a–n/a
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN