# Lumick's C-Trap instrument for single-molecule analysis of macromolecular dynamics

> **NIH NIH S10** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2021 · $600,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Investigators at the University of Iowa have a growing need to analyze macromolecular interactions and
conformational dynamics at a single-molecule level. For over a decade, University of Iowa Carver College
of Medicine Protein and Crystallography (P&C) Facility has been providing the University of Iowa
investigators access to and help in operating of basic and state-of-the-art instrumentation for biophysical
and structural analysis of proteins and nucleic acids. Addition of an instrument that will allow researchers
to visualize and study biologically important molecules individually, in real time, and under physiological
conditions will significantly enhance research programs at the University of Iowa. It will provide a much-
needed tool for developing mechanistic understanding of how cells work and communicate, how
molecular machines assemble and function. While several groups at the University of Iowa have built
systems for single-molecule analysis in their labs, none of these instruments allows for simultaneous
visualization and manipulation of biological macromolecules. Currently, there is also no single-molecule
instruments centrally available to non-expert users at the University of Iowa.
This proposal requests funds for a LUMICKS C-Trap(R) instrument, the first and only commercial
instrument for single-molecule analysis of macromolecular interactions that combines high resolution
optical tweezers, fluorescence microscopy and microfluidics, and therefore allows simultaneous
manipulation and visualization of the macromolecular complexes. It is an important tool for the single-
molecule multiparameter analysis of macromolecular interactions, assembly and function of molecular
machines and conformational dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids.
The C-Trap(R) will be housed at the P&C Facility whose personnel will be responsible for the instrument
maintenance, user training, and will assist the investigators with experimental design, instrument
operation and data analysis. The C-Trap(R) instrument will have an immediate impact on numerous NIH-
funded research projects at the University of Iowa and collaborators, and will also serve as an important
resource for our collaborators in regional institutions. The projects that will immediately benefit from this
instrument include studies of the molecular processes that ensure genome stability, assembly and
dynamics of multicomponent molecular machines, viral genome folding, chromatin organization, as well
as enzymes that represent attractive targets for development of new anticancer, anti-neurodegeneration,
anti-viral and antimicrobial therapies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10175508
- **Project number:** 1S10OD028485-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Spies
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $600,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10175508

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10175508, Lumick's C-Trap instrument for single-molecule analysis of macromolecular dynamics (1S10OD028485-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10175508. Licensed CC0.

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