How Molecular Mechanics Can Measure Nanoscopic Flow

Molecular mechanics translates macroscopic effects to a molecular scale, using distinct mechanical properties of a molecular structure. By this, the interaction of matter can be monitored with outstanding spatial resolution on a nanoscopic scale. We present the application of molecular mechanics to measure shear forces due to dynamics pressures and streams at surfaces using a bionic approach. Our system monitors the deflection of a short DNA strand in response to an external molecular flow and bases on a fluorescence resonance energy transfer as a read-out. This way, quenching or temperature effects can be excluded, and the working range of the system can easily be fine-tuned to match diverse shear forces and dynamic pressures.