Introduction of Research

Dynamic events on a molecular level are essential for a living system because biological molecules fulfil a wide variety of unique functions through conformational change and molecular interactions triggered by binding of ligand/substrate and changes in the external environment. We aim to elucidate function mechanisms of proteins from the aspect of single-molecule dynamics based on direct visualization using high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM), which enables real-time imaging of individual molecules in action. Further, we carry out functional extensions of the HS-AFM towards imaging dynamics of morphology and mechanical property of a living cell.