Nanoscale Dynamics of Biological Polymers

Proteins are the most versatile components of the molecular machinery of life. We use single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy to study their dynamics on timescales from nanoseconds to hours, even in complex environments, including living cells. In particular, we focus on intrinsically disordered proteins, which do not fold into a well-defined three-dimensional structure and whose behavior can often be rationalized in terms of polymer physics. A mechanistic understanding of biomolecular dynamics is becoming increasingly accessible through the synergy of biophysical
experiments with polymer theory and molecular simulations.