Publication list also available at Google Scholar.
AFM image analysis software (SmarTrace, AutoSmarTrace) is available for download from github.
Decoding Collagen's Thermally Induced Unfolding and Refolding Pathways. A. Al-Shaer and N.R. Forde. submitted [bioRxiv]
AGEing of Collagen: The Effects of Glycation on Collagen's Stability, Mechanics and Assembly. D. Sloseris and N.R. Forde. submitted [bioRxiv]
Walking by design: how to build artificial molecular motors made of proteins. P.F. Nilsson, A. Zink, O.M.C. Laprévote, C.S. Korosec, N. Gustafsson, N.O. Robertson, N.R. Forde, R. Eichhorn, B. Höcker, P.M.G. Curmi and H. Linke Nano Futures, in press (2024) [journal]
Line optical tweezers as controllable micromachines: techniques and emerging trends. Y. Shen, D.A. Weitz, N.R. Forde and M. Shayegan. Soft Matter 18, 5359-5365 (2022) [journal]
Through the Eyes of Creators: Observing Artificial Molecular Motors. I.N. Unksov, C.S. Korosec, P. Surendiran, D. Verardo, R. Lyttleton, N.R. Forde and H. Linke. ACS Nanosci. Au 2, 140–159 (2022) [journal]
Substrate stiffness tunes the dynamics of polyvalent rolling motors. C.S. Korosec, L. Jindal, M. Schneider, I. Calderon de la Barca, M.J. Zuckermann, N.R. Forde and E. Emberly. Soft Matter 17, 1468-1479 (2021) [journal]
Synthetic biology approaches to dissecting linear motor protein function: towards the design and synthesis of artificial autonomous protein walkers. H. Linke, B. Höcker, K. Furuta, N.R. Forde and P.M.G. Curmi. Biophysical Reviews, 12, 1041-1054 (2020)[journal]
Characterizing the Flexibility of the Body’s Building Block: Collagen. A. Al-Shaer, A. Lyons and N.R. Forde. Physics in Canada, 75, 14-17 (2019)[journal]
A chloride ring is an ancient evolutionary innovation mediating the assembly of the collagen IV scaffold of basement membranes. V. Pedchenko, R. Bauer, E.N. Pokidysheva, A. Al-Shaer, N.R. Forde, A.L. Fidler, B.G. Hudson and S.P. Boudko. Journal of Biological Chemistry 294, 7968-7981 (2019)[journal] [pdf]
The Bar-Hinge Motor: A synthetic protein design exploiting conformational switching to achieve directional motility. L.S.R. Small, M.J. Zuckermann, R.B. Sessions, P.M.G. Curmi, H. Linke, N.R. Forde and E.H.C. Bromley. New Journal of Physics 21, 013002 (2019)[journal]
Modified Pluronic F127 surface for bioconjugation and blocking nonspecific adsorption of microspheres and biomacromolecules. M.H.W. Kirkness, C.S. Korosec and N.R. Forde. Langmuir 34, 13550-13557 (2018)[journal]
Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) module for advanced undergraduate laboratories. N.R. Forde, D. Lee and J. Bechhoefer, 2018 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College (BFY) Proceedings (2018)[weblink]
Effects of finite and discrete sampling and blur on microrheology experiments. V.E. Loosemore and N.R. Forde. Optics Expess 25, 31239-31252 (2017)[journal]
Gaining practical experience with Physics approaches to the micro- and nanoscale world of biology. N.R. Forde. Physics in Canada 73, 109-112 (2017)[pdf]
Nanophysical Approaches to Biological Systems (foreword). J. Dutcher, N.R. Forde and S. Leslie. Physics in Canada 73, 59-60 (2017) [pdf]
Construction of a chassis for a tripartite protein-based molecular motor. L.S.R. Small, M. Bruning, A.R. Thomson, A.L. Boyle, R. Davies, P.M.G. Curmi, N.R. Forde, H. Linke, D.N. Woolfson and E.H.C. Bromley. ACS Synthetic Biology 6, 1096-1102 (2017) [journal]
Intact telopeptides enhance interactions between collagens. M. Shayegan*, T. Altindal*, E. Kiefl and N.R. Forde. Biophysical Journal 111, 2404 (2016).[journal]
Development and characterization of a eukaryotic expression system for human type II procollagen. A. Wieczorek, N. Rezaei, C.K. Chan, C. Xu, P. Panwar, D. Brömme, E.F. Merschrod S. and N.R. Forde. BMC Biotechnology 15, 112 (2015). [journal] [Lay summary]
Motor properties from persistence: a linear molecular walker lacking spatial and temporal asymmetry. M.J. Zuckermann, C.N. Angstmann, R. Schmitt, G.A. Blab, E.H.C. Bromley, N.R. Forde, H. Linke and P.M.G. Curmi. New Journal of Physics 17, 055017 (2015) [journal]
Design and construction of the lawnmower, an artificial burnt-bridges motor. S. Kovacic, L. Samii, P.M.G. Curmi, H. Linke, M.J. Zuckermann and N.R. Forde. IEEE Transactions on NanoBioscience 4, 305-312 (2015)[journal] [author-submitted pdf]
Fluidic Switching in Nanochannels for Control of Inchworm: A Synthetic Biomolecular Motor with a Power Stroke. C.S. Niman, M.J. Zuckermann, M. Balaz, J.O. Tegenfeldt, P.M.G. Curmi, N.R. Forde and H. Linke. Nanoscale 6, 15008-15019 (2014) [journal]
Construction and Characterization of Kilobasepair Densely Labeled Peptide-DNA. S. Kovacic, L. Samii, G. Lamour, H. Li, H. Linke, E.H.C. Bromley, D.N. Woolfson, P.M.G. Curmi and N.R. Forde. Biomacromolecules 15, 4065–4072 (2014)[journal]
Probing multiscale mechanics of collagen with optical tweezers. M. Shayegan, N. Rezaei, N.H. Lam, T. Altindal, A. Wieczorek and N.R. Forde. in Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation X, edited by K. Dholakia and G.C. Spalding, Proceedings of SPIE 8810 88101P (2013)[journal]
Microrheological Characterization of Collagen Systems: From Molecular Solutions to Fibrillar Gels. M. Shayegan and N.R. Forde. PLoS ONE 8, e70590 (2013)[journal]
Controlled microfluidic switching in arbitrary time-sequences with low drag. C.S. Niman, J.P. Beech, J.O. Tegenfeldt, P.M.G. Curmi, D.N. Woolfson, N.R. Forde and H. Linke. Lab on a Chip 13, 2389-2396 (2013)
Squaring the Circle in Peptide Assembly: From Fibers to Discrete Nanostructures by de Novo Design. A.L. Boyle, E.H.C. Bromley, G.J. Bartlett, R.B. Sessions, T.H. Sharp, C.L. Williams, P.M.G. Curmi, N.R. Forde, H. Linke and D.N. Woolfson. Journal of the American Chemical Society 134, 15457–15467 (2012)
Probing the Viscoelasticity of Collagen Solutions via Optical-Tweezers-Based Microrheology. M. Shayegan and N.R. Forde. MRS Proceedings 1465, mrss12-1465-ss06-08 (2012)
Design and Construction of a One-Dimensional DNA Track for an Artificial Molecular Motor. S. Kovacic*, L. Samii*, D. N. Woolfson, P.M.G. Curmi, H. Linke, N.R. Forde and G.A. Blab. Journal of Nanomaterials 2012, 109238 (2012)
Tuning the performance of an artificial protein motor. N.J. Kuwada, M.J. Zuckermann, E.H.C. Bromley, R.B. Sessions, P.M.G. Curmi, N.R. Forde, D.N. Woolfson and H. Linke, Physical Review E 84, 031922 (2011)
Positional stability of holographic optical traps. A. Farré, M. Shayegan, C. López-Quesada, G.A. Blab, M. Montes-Usategui, N.R. Forde and E. Martín-Badosa, Optics Express 19, 21370-21384 (2011)
Time-dependent motor properties of multipedal molecular spiders. L. Samii, G.A. Blab, E.H.C. Bromley, H. Linke, P.M.G. Curmi, M.J. Zuckermann and N.R. Forde, Physical Review E 84, 031111 (2011)
Using optical tweezers to study mechanical properties of collagen. N. Rezaei, B.P.B. Downing, A. Wieczorek, C.K.Y. Chan, R.L. Welch and N.R. Forde. in Photonics North 2011, edited by R. Kashyap, M. Têtu and R.N. Kleiman, Proceedings of SPIE 8007 80070K (2011)
Power spectral analysis for optical trap stiffness calibration from high-speed camera position detection with limited bandwidth. A. van der Horst and N.R. Forde. Optics Express 18, 7670-7677 (2010)
Stretching single DNA molecules to demonstrate high-force capabilities of holographic optical tweezers. A. Farré*, A. van der Horst*, G.A. Blab, B.P.B. Downing and N.R. Forde. Journal of Biophotonics 3, 224-233 (2010)
Biased motion and molecular motor properties of bipedal spiders. L. Samii, H. Linke, M.J. Zuckermann and N.R. Forde, Physical Review E 81, 021106 (2010)
The Tumbleweed: towards a synthetic protein motor. E.H.C. Bromley, N.J. Kuwada, M.J. Zuckermann, R. Donadini, L. Samii, G.A. Blab, G.J. Gemmen, B.J. Lopez, P.M.G. Curmi, N.R. Forde, D.N. Woolfson and H. Linke, HFSP Journal 3, 204-212 (2009)
Probing the Elasticity of Short Proteins with Optical Tweezers. B.P.D. Downing, A. van der Horst, M. Miao, F.W. Keeley and N.R. Forde, in Optical Trapping Applications (Optical Society of America, Washington, DC, 2009), OTuA3
Position and Intensity Modulations in Holographic Optical Traps Created by a Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator. A. van der Horst, B.P.D. Downing and N.R. Forde, in Optical Trapping Applications (Optical Society of America, Washington, DC, 2009), OMB3
Calibration of dynamic holographic optical tweezers for force measurements on biomaterials. A. van der Horst and N.R. Forde, Opt. Express 16, 20987-21003 (2008)
Thermal Probing of E. coli RNA Polymerase Off-Pathway Mechanisms. Y.X. Mejia, H. Mao, N.R. Forde and C. Bustamante, J. Mol. Biol. 382, 628-637 (2008)
Brownian Motion in a Modulated Optical Trap. Y. Deng, J. Bechhoefer and N.R. Forde, J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 9, S256-S263 (2007) [special issue on optical trapping] Featured in the November/December 2007 issue of Europhysics News.
Comment on “Direct Measurement of the Oscillation Frequency in an Optical-Tweezers Trap by Parametric Excitation”. Y. Deng, N.R. Forde and J. Bechhoefer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 189082 (2007)
Mechanical processes in biochemistry. C. Bustamante, Y.R. Chemla, N.R. Forde and D. Izhaky, Ann. Rev. Biochem. 73, 705-748 (2004) [authors listed alphabetically]
Using mechanical force to probe the mechanism of pausing and arrest during continuous elongation by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. N.R. Forde, D. Izhaky, G.R. Woodcock, G.J.L. Wuite and C. Bustamante, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 99, 11682-11687 (2002)
Theses by group members
Chapin Korosec, Ph.D. in Physics, 2021 "Modelling and engineering artificial burnt-bridge ratchet molecular motors"
Michael Kirkness, Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, 2019 "Development of single-molecule assays for proteolytic susceptibility: Force-induced collagen destabilization"
Victoria Loosemore, M.Sc. in Physics, 2017 "Optical tweezers-based microrheological measurements using a high-speed camera"
Naghmeh Rezaei, Ph.D. in Physics, 2016 "Mechanical Studies of Single Collagen Molecules Using Imaging and Force Spectroscopy"
Marjan Shayegan, Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2014 "Determining local viscoelastic properties of collagen systems using optical tweezers"
Laleh Samii, Ph.D. in Physics, 2013 "Studies of Synthetic Molecular Motors"
Benjamin Downing, M.Sc. in Physics, 2010 "Probing the mechanical properties of short molecules with optical tweezers"
Michelle Lee, M.Sc. in Physics, 2007 "Quantitative characterisation of forces and fields in a magnetic tweezers instrument"
Yi Deng, M.Sc. in Physics, 2007 "Calibration and characterization of static and modulated optical traps"
Philip Johnson, M.Sc. in Physics, 2007 "Toward single-molecule DNA uptake by Haemophilus influenzae"
Papers from Nancy's earlier life in Chemical Physics:
Characterization of nitrogen-containing radical products from the photodissociation of trimethylamine using photoionization detection. N.R. Forde, L.J. Butler, O. Sorkhabi, F. Qi, A. Suits and B. Ruscic, J. Chem. Phys. 113, 3088-3097 (2000)
Photodissociating Trimethylamine at 193 nm to Probe Dynamics at a Conical Intersection and to Calibrate Radical Detection Efficiency. N.R. Forde, M.L. Morton, S.L. Curry, S.J. Wrenn and L.J. Butler, J. Chem. Phys. 111, 4558-4568 (1999)
Electronic accessibility of dissociation channels in an amide: N,N-dimethylformamide photodissociation at 193 nm. N.R. Forde, L.J. Butler and S. A. Abrash, J. Chem. Phys. 110, 8954-8968 (1999)
Chemical Reaction Dynamics when the Born-Oppenheimer Approximation Fails: Understanding Which Changes in the Electronic Wavefunction might be Restricted. N.R. Forde, T.L. Myers and L.J. Butler, Faraday Discussions 108, 221-242 (1997)
Photodissociation of Acrylic Acid at 193 nm. D.C. Kitchen, N.R. Forde and L.J. Butler, J. Phys. Chem. A 101, 6603-6610 (1997)