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High‐resolution imaging and nano‐manipulation of biological structures on surface
Author(s) -
Zhang Yi,
Hu Xiaofang,
Sun Jielin,
Shen Yi,
Hu Jun,
Xu Xuemin,
Shao Zhifeng
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.20925
Subject(s) - biomolecule , atomic force microscopy , nanotechnology , supramolecular chemistry , high resolution , resolution (logic) , nano , biological materials , materials science , chemistry , molecule , biological system , computer science , biology , artificial intelligence , geology , composite material , remote sensing , organic chemistry
In this mini‐review we discuss our recent findings on imaging and manipulation of biological macromolecular structures by atomic force microscopy (AFM). In the first part of this review, we focus on high‐resolution imaging of selected biological samples. AFM images of membrane proteins have revealed detailed conformational features related to identifiable biological functions. Different self‐assembling behaviors of short peptides into supramolecular structures on various substrates under controlled environmental conditions have been systematically studied with AFM imaging. In the second part, we present a novel nano‐manipulation technique for manipulating, isolating, amplifying, and sequencing of individual DNA molecules, which may find unique applications in the analysis of difficult sequence structures. Finally, we discuss how to characterize the elasticity of individual biomolecules and live cells. These results demonstrate that not only the high resolution capacity of the AFM is suited to resolve certain biological questions, but can also be applied to single molecule isolation and biomechanical analysis with its unique advantages. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.