Fig. 2. Speeding up bimolecular association by DNA. (a) A schematic of the proof-of-concept biotin–streptavidin system. (b) Single-molecule fluorescence imaging confirms that functionalisation of binding partners with pVIc peptide renders S and B able to 1D slide along DNA. The results are presented as kymographs: top trace shows the sliding of binding partner S, bottom trace shows the sliding of binding partner B, labelled with streptavidin-Cy5 for the ease of detection in view of the signal-to-noise ratio. (c) The formation of complex S·B is monitored in time using various concentrations of 2686 bp long DNA in solution. The time evolution of product concentration can be approximated by exponential growth C(t) = C max(1 – e–t/τ), where τ is the observed characteristic reaction time.
