This project aims at a fundamentally new method capable of detecting and tracking the conformational dynamics of proteins at a single-molecular level, at their native time scales, and ultimately without the use of any labels. Understanding the conformations of a protein in its native environment is a crucial step in revealing its biological function. We advance the proven concept of single protein scattering detection by measurement of the optical anisotropy phenomenon at single-molecule level, giving readout of the protein conformation. An experimental approach will be developed enabling real-time tracking of conformational changes of single-proteins at timescales ranging from sub-microsecond to hours. As a result, this work will present an advanced and general toolbox in molecular biology and biophysics for studying protein dynamics including fast folding and transition paths which were so far never possible to observe in real-time.
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