Single-Molecule Biophysics

Discover the experimental and theoretical developments in optical single-molecule spectroscopy that are changing the ways we think about molecules and atoms The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics field with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. This latest volume explores the advent of optical single-molecule spectroscopy, and how atomic force microscopy has empowered novel experiments on individual biomolecules, opening up new frontiers in molecular and cell biology and leading to new theoretical approaches and insights. Organized into two parts—one experimental, the other theoretical—this volume explores advances across the field of single-molecule biophysics, presenting new perspectives on the theoretical properties of atoms and molecules. Single-molecule experiments have provided fresh perspectives on questions such as how proteins fold to specific conformations from highly heterogeneous structures, how signal transductions take place on the molecular level, and how proteins behave in membranes and living cells.This volume is designed to further contribute to the rapid development of single-molecule biophysics research. Filled with cutting-edge research reported in a cohesive manner not found elsewhere in the literature, each volume of the Advances in Chemical Physics series serves as the perfect supplement to any advanced graduate class devoted to the study of chemical physics.

Volume Editors Tamiki Komatsuzaki is a Professor in the Molecule and Life Nonlinear Sciences Laboratory, Research Institute for Electronic Science at Hokkaido University in Japan. His research interests include origin of selectivity and stochasticity of reactions, single-molecule biophysics, as well as protein landscape and complexity in kinetics and dynamics. Masaru Kawakami is an Associate Professor at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) School of Material Science. He specializes in biophysics, single-molecule measurement, protein folding, and structural biology, and his research focuses on single-molecule dynamics of biomolecules. Satoshi Takahashi is a Professor at the Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Japan. His research focuses on protein folding and functional dynamics. Haw Yang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University. His current research focuses on high-resolution quantitative single-molecule protein dynamics and real-time 3D single-particle tracking spectroscopy. Robert J. Silbey is the Class of 1942 Professor of Chemistry at MIT. His research involves theoretical studies of single-molecule spectroscopy at low temperatures, energy and electron transfer and relaxation in molecular aggregates, the optical and electronic properties of conjugated oligomers and polymers, and the transport of charge in organic systems. Series Editors Stuart A. Rice received his master's and doctorate from Harvard University and was a junior fellow at Harvard for two years before joining the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1957, where he is currently the Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus. Aaron R. Dinner received his bachelor's degree and doctorate from Harvard University, after which he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2003.