Force & Function
Given the prominence of strain resisting structures e.g. cytoskeleton, muscle or proteins involved in cell adhesion, force sensors play a pivotal role in the maintenance of viability and integrity of organisms. our research aims to clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms of typical representatives of such sensors like titin kinase and different myosin light chain kinases with a combination of single molecule fluorescence and AFM-based force spectroscopy. We use these findings for the design of artificial force sensors with optical readout to be expressed in force bearing structures of cells.
