Welcome!
At the Nano Dynamics Lab, we are fascinated by the molecular dynamics found in biomolecules, and we strive to investigate them experimentally at the single-molecule level using cutting-edge nanopore & smFRET techniques.
Proteins are the molecular makers in our body. They perform all vital cellular functions to maintain life as we know it: cell growth & division, genome replication & repair, energy harvesting & conversion, self-defence & attack, environmental sensing & reaction to it, etc. etc. To do this all, proteins adopt different 3D conformations and change their interaction partners dynamically. However, these essential molecular dynamics are challenging to observe and dissect experimentally, because they usually happen unsynchronized in a large molecular ensemble.
To tackle this, in the NanoDynamicsLab, we use & develop innovative single-molecule techniques to gain quantitative insight into biomolecular dynamics, in order to understand the molecular basis of protein function and also malfunction leading to disease. In particular, we are fascinated by how functional dynamics arise from specific structural elements (protein domains, or even single atoms) in the context of diverse energy sources, including thermal and chemical energy, light, ion gradients etc. And we aim to understand and alter such nanoscale processes in a controlled way.
JOIN US if you share our enthusiasm for biomolecular dynamics, one molecule at a time.
News
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LS2 presentation award for Benjamin (PhD student)
On November 20th 2024 in Lausanne, Life Sciences Switzerland (LS2) organized their first joint meeting of the sections Biophysics and Ion Channel and Membrane Transporters (ICMT). There, Benjamin gave an oral presentation on his…
Single-molecule detection of CRISPR-Cas second messengers using nanopores
Second messengers are molecules with a central role in cellular signaling and communication. For the first time, an interdisciplinary team led by Sonja Schmid achieved the detection of CRISPR-Cas-produced messengers with single-molecule…SNI interview with Sonja
Sonja Schmid studied nanosciences at the University of Basel, left Switzerland for her PhD, and Postdoc and is now back in Basel as an assistant professor of Physical Chemistry and member of the Swiss Nanoscience Institute. She talks about…