Introduction to Experimental Biophysics

Jay L. Nadeau is an associate professor of physics at Portland State University. She was previously a research professor of medical engineering at Caltech (2015-2017) and associate professor of biomedical engineering and physics at McGill University (2004-2015). Her research interests include nanoparticles, fluorescence imaging, and development of instrumentation for the detection of life elsewhere in the solar system. She has published over 70 papers on topics ranging from theoretical condensed matter physics to experimental neurobiology to the development of anticancer drugs and, in the process, has used almost every technique described in this book. Her work has been featured in New Scientist, Highlights in Chemical Biology, Radio Canada’s Les Années Lumière, Le Guide des Tendances, and in educational displays in schools and museums. Her research group features chemists, microbiologists, roboticists, physicists, and physician-scientists, all learning from each other and hoping to speak each other’s language. A believer in bringing biology to physicists as well as physics to biologists, she has created two graduate-level courses: methods in molecular biology for physical scientists and mathematical cellular physiology. She has also taught pharmacology in the medical school and was one of the pioneers in the establishment of multiple mini-interviews for medical school admission.She retains an adjunct position at McGill, and has collaborators in industry and academia in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan. She has given several dozen invited talks at meetings of the American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), the Committee on Space Research, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), and many others. Before McGill, she was a member of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for Life Detection, and previous to that a Burroughs-Wellcome postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Henry A. Lester at Caltech. She received her PhD in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1996.

• Series PrefacePrefaceAcknowledgmentsAuthorContributorsChapter 1 Introduction and BackgroundChapter 2 Basic Molecular Cloning of DNA and RNAChapter 3 Expression of Genes in Bacteria, Yeast, and Cultured Mammalian CellsChapter 4 Advanced Topics in Molecular BiologyChapter 5 Protein Expression MethodsJoshua A. MaurerChapter 6 Protein CrystallizationOliver M. Baettig and Albert M. BerghuisChapter 7 Introduction to Biological Light MicroscopyCoauthored with Michael W. DavidsonChapter 8 Advanced Light Microscopy TechniquesCoauthored with Lina CarliniChapter 9 Advanced Topics in Microscopy II: Holographic MicroscopyCoauthored with Manuel BedrossianChapter 10 Quantitative Cell Culture TechniquesChapter 11 Semiconductor Nanoparticles (Quantum Dots)Chapter 12 Gold NanoparticlesEdward S. Allgeyer, Gary Craig, Sanjeev Kumar Kandpal, Jeremy Grant, and Michael D. MasonChapter 13 Advanced Topics in Gold Nanoparticles: Biomedical ApplicationsChapter 14 Surface Functionalization TechniquesChapter 15 ElectrophysiologyCoauthored with Christian A. Lindensmith and Thomas KnöpfelChapter 16 Spectroscopy Tools and TechniquesChapter 17 Introduction to NanofabricationOrad ReshefGlossaryAppendix A: Common SolutionsAppendix B: Common MediaAppendix C: Restriction EndonucleasesAppendix D: Common EnzymesAppendix E: Fluorescent Dyes and QuenchersAppendix F: Fluorescent ProteinsIndex

"I was really very surprised how much I want to purchase this text. Our lab is engaged in research that spans multiple disciplines, from genetic engineering, biomaterials, immunotherapy, and tissue engineering. Hence the ‘tool box’ that members of my group have to develop is broad but requires detail. This text by Nadeau amazingly touches on the many if not all the techniques a modern molecular biology/bioengineering researcher needs." —James D. Bryers, Professor of Bioengineering, University of Washington"This book will prove to be extremely useful and motivating for any scientist, student or newcomer interested in applying concepts, methods and techniques of the physical and chemical sciences to fundamental problems in biology and medicine. It clearly enlightens the need of combining interdisciplinary approaches to tackle the main challenges in life sciences. The main strength of this book is that it provides not only some description of basic methods and techniques, but also gives access to more advanced approaches and to more sophisticated equipment. It brings physics and chemistry to biologists and physicians, as well as biology and medicine to physicists and chemists. —Alain Arneodo, Directeur de Recherche, CNRS