Abstract
With the aid of brownian dynamics models, it is possible to estimate polymer tension by monitoring polymers' transverse thermal fluctuations. To assess the precision of the approach, brownian dynamics-based tension estimates were compared with the force applied to rhodamine-phalloidin labeled actin filaments bound to polymer beads and suspended between two optical traps. The transverse thermal fluctuations of each filament were monitored with a CCD camera, and the images were analyzed to obtain the filament's transverse displacement variance as a function of position along the filament, the filament's tension, and the camera's exposure time. A linear Brownian dynamics model was used to estimate the filament's tension. The estimated force was compared and agreed within 30% (when the tension <0.1 pN ) and 70% (when the tension <1 pN ) with the applied trap force. In addition, the paper presents concise asymptotic expressions for the mechanical compliance of a system consisting of a filament attached tangentially to bead handles (dumbbell system). The techniques described here can be used for noncontact estimates of polymers' and fibers' tension.