EPFL BioEngineering Talks
Weekly BioEngineering Talks (Lunch Provided)
INVITED SPEAKER:
From single-molecule biophysics with Graphene Energy Transfer to Brownian DNA computing
Prof. Dr. Philip Tinnefeld, LMU Munich
Host: Prof. Aleksandra Radenovic
Abstract:
Graphene-on-glass coverslips are an emerging microscopy platform as resonant energy transfer to graphene offers an axial ruler in the 5-40 nm range. I present single molecule biophysics experiments of protein/DNA interactions using Graphene Energy Transfer (GET) in combination with the discovery that dsDNA adopts a vertical orientation on graphene. Axial information of DNA structure and protein positions is deduced from GET-efficiency and xy-information is obtained e.g. by photon-efficient pMINFLUX revealing simultaneous bending and torsion of enzyme induced DNA conformations. Finally, I discuss how multi-color smFRET with dark quenchers probes states of DNA nanorobots and Brownian DNA computers that work close to the thermodynamic optimum.
Bio:
Philip Tinnefeld is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, leading a highly interdisciplinary NanoBioSciences research group that brings together molecular biology, biophysics, nanophotonics, and physical chemistry. He specialises in single-molecule detection and super-resolution microscopy, and he uses DNA origami to build modular nanoscale devices—such as force sensors, fluorescence amplifiers, and molecular robots—that can sense, compute, and respond autonomously. Under his leadership, the lab is also developing advanced biosensing platforms and imaging tools by combining DNA nanotechnology with 2D materials like graphene, pushing the frontiers of how we observe and control biological processes at the molecular level.
STUDENT SPEAKER:
Understanding oxidative stress response in animals - a case study of the essential enzyme adenosylhomocysteinase, AHCY
Yong-Qi Gao, Zenk Lab
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BioEngineering Talks mandatory EDBB Seminar Attendance (1st-Year PhD Students)
- Attendance sheet to print HERE
General information:
In-person attendance is preferred to support your fellow students. Zoom is mainly for students on remote campuses; please notify Fiorella Ghisays in advance and join using your full name.
If attending in person, have your sheet signed after the talk and keep the original, as no copy is retained.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Institute of Bioengineering
Contact
- Fiorella Ghisays, Institute of Bioengineering