DNA analysis based on the observation of single DNA molecules has been a key technology in molecular biology. Several techniques for manipulating single DNA molecules have been proposed for this purpose; however, these techniques have limits on the manipulatable DNA. To overcome this, we demonstrate a method of DNA manipulation using microstructures captured by optical tweezers that allow the manipulation of a chromosomal DNA molecule. For proper DNA handling, we developed microstructures analogous to chopsticks to capture and elongate single DNA molecules under an optical microscope. Two microstructures (i.e., microchopsticks) were captured by two focused laser beams to pinch a single yeast chromosomal DNA molecule between them and thereby manipulate it. The experiments demonstrated successful DNA manipulation and revealed that the size and geometry of the microchopsticks are important factors for effective DNA handling. This technique allows a high degree of freedom in handling single DNA molecules, potentially leading to applications in the study of chromosomal DNA.

中文翻译：

---

使用光学驱动的微型筷子捕获和延长单个染色体 DNA 分子。

基于观察单个 DNA 分子的 DNA 分析一直是分子生物学中的一项关键技术。为此，已经提出了几种操纵单个 DNA 分子的技术。然而，这些技术对可操作的 DNA 有限制。为了克服这个问题，我们展示了一种使用光镊捕获的微结构进行 DNA 操作的方法，该微结构允许操作染色体 DNA 分子。为了正确处理 DNA，我们开发了类似于筷子的微结构，以在光学显微镜下捕获和拉长单个 DNA 分子。两个微结构（即微型筷子）被两个聚焦的激光束捕获，以将单个酵母染色体 DNA 分子夹在它们之间，从而对其进行操作。实验证明了成功的 DNA 操作，并表明微筷的大小和几何形状是有效处理 DNA 的重要因素。这种技术允许在处理单个 DNA 分子时具有高度的自由度，可能会导致在染色体 DNA 研究中的应用。