In experimental biophysics, the activity of molecular motors is observed with many different experimental approaches, among them:
* Fluorescent methods: fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF).
* Magnetic tweezers can also be useful for analysis of motors that operate on long pieces of DNA.
* Neutron spin echo spectroscopy can be used to observe motion on nanosecond timescales.
* Optical tweezers (not to be confused with molecular tweezers in context) are well-suited for studying molecular motors because of their low spring constants.
* Scattering techniques: single particle tracking based on dark field microscopy or interferometric scattering microscopy (iSCAT)
* Single-molecule electrophysiology can be used to measure the dynamics of individual ion channels.
Many more techniques are also used. As new technologies and methods are developed, it is expected that knowledge of naturally occurring molecular motors will be helpful in constructing synthetic nanoscale motors.