Research Statement

Overall, I am interested in how protein structural dynamics are related to their function. The techniques I use to obtain this information are single-molecule fluorescence and optical tweezers.

More in particular, my students and I are working on the following projects:

• How are conformational changes in the motor protein kinesin coupled to its processive motion??
• How do DNA-binding proteins (like restriction enzymes and polymerases) find their binding sites??
• How do chaperonins help proteins to fold ??
• Is it possible to combine optical tweezers and single-molecule fluorescence??

For more information on theses subjects select one of the tabs under research on the left side of this page.

My research is funded by a NWO/ALW/VU VIDI grant and several FOM/NWO grants.

Selected Publications

• L.C. Kapitein, E.J.G. Peterman, B.H. Kwok, J.H. Kim, T.M. Kapoor, C.F. Schmidt (2005)
  The bipolar mitotic kinesin Eg5 moves on both microtubules that it crosslinks
  Nature 435, 114-118

• M.A. van Dijk, L.C. Kapitein, J. van Mameren, C.F. Schmidt, E.J.G. Peterman (2004)
  Combining optical trapping and single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy: enhanced photo bleaching of fluorophores
  J. Phys. Chem. B 108, 6479-6484

• E.J.G. Peterman, H. Sosa, W.E. Moerner (2004)
  Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy of molecular motors
  Annual Review of Phys. Chem. 55, 79-96

• E.J.G. Peterman, F. Gittes, C.F. Schmidt (2003)
  Laser-induced heating in optical traps
  Biophys J. 84, 1308-1316

• E.J.G. Peterman, M.A. van Dijk, L.C. Kapitein, C.F. Schmidt (2003)
  Extending the bandwidth of optical-tweezers interferometry
  Review of Scientific Instruments 74, 3246-3249

• H. Sosa, E.J.G. Peterman, W.E. Moerner, L.S.B. Goldstein (2001)
  ADP-induced rocking of the kinesin motor domain revealed by single-molecule fluorescence
  polarization microscopy
  Nat. Struct. Biol. 8, 540-544

• E.J.G. Peterman, H. Sosa, L.S.B. Goldstein, W.E. Moerner (2001)
  Polarized fluorescence microscopy of individual and many kinesin motors bound to axonemal microtubules
  Biophys. J. 81, 2851-2863

• E.J.G. Peterman, S. Brasselet, W.E. Moerner (1999)
  The fluorescence dynamics of single molecules of green fluorescent protein 
  J. Phys. Chem. A 103, 10553-10560

• E.J.G. Peterman, H. van Amerongen, R. van Grondelle, J.P.  Dekker (1998)
  The nature of the excited state of the reaction center of photosystem II of green plants:
  A high-resolution fluorescence spectroscopy study
  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.. 95,  6128-6133