C. Maffeo

Single molecule delivery into living cells

This paper introduces a nanoinjection platform using nanopipettes to deliver macromolecules into cells with single molecule resolution, showing phenotypic changes and enhanced detection through macromolecular crowding.

Nanopore translocation reveals electrophoretic force on non-canonical RNA:DNA double helix

The paper compares the electrophoretic translocation dynamics of RNA:DNA hybrids and DNA:DNA duplexes through nanopores, finding that RNA:DNA hybrids translocate faster despite similar contour lengths.

DNA double helix, a tiny electromotor

The paper demonstrates that a DNA or RNA duplex rotates unidirectionally at high speed under an electric field, driven by electro-osmotic flow, and shows potential for nanoscale engineering applications.

Percolation transition determines protein size limit for passive transport through the nuclear pore complex

The paper uses simulations and theory to show that protein size limits passive transport through the nuclear pore complex due to a percolation transition in the disordered mesh.

Single-molecule biophysics experiments in silico: Towards a physical model of a replisome

The paper develops a coarse-grained computational model of a DNA binding protein to mimic single-molecule experiments and simulates a replication fork's trombone loop.

Outperforming nature: synthetic enzyme built from DNA flips lipids of biological membranes at record rates

This paper describes a synthetic DNA enzyme that rapidly transports lipids between membrane leaflets, outperforming natural enzymes by three orders of magnitude.