Membrane-based actuation for high-speed single molecule force spectroscopy studies using AFM

Sarangapani, Krishna, Torun, Hamdi, Finkler, Ofer, Zhu, Cheng and Degertekin, Levent (2010) Membrane-based actuation for high-speed single molecule force spectroscopy studies using AFM. European Biophysics Journal, 39 (8). pp. 1219-1227. ISSN 0175-7571

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Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based dynamic force spectroscopy of single molecular interactions involves characterizing unbinding/unfolding force distributions over a range of pulling speeds. Owing to their size and stiffness, AFM cantilevers are adversely affected by hydrodynamic forces, especially at pulling speeds >10 μm/s, when the viscous drag becomes comparable to the unbinding/unfolding forces. To circumvent these adverse effects, we have fabricated polymer-based membranes capable of actuating commercial AFM cantilevers at speeds ≥100 μm/s with minimal viscous drag effects. We have used FLUENT®, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, to simulate high-speed pulling and fast actuation of AFM cantilevers and membranes in different experimental configurations. The simulation results support the experimental findings on a variety of commercial AFM cantilevers and predict significant reduction in drag forces when membrane actuators are used. Unbinding force experiments involving human antibodies using these membranes demonstrate that it is possible to achieve bond loading rates ≥106 pN/s, an order of magnitude greater than that reported with commercial AFM cantilevers and systems.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Hydrodynamic drag, Membrane actuation, Parylene, Cantilever, Unbinding force, Loading rate
Subjects:	F300 Physics
Department:	Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering
Depositing User:	Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited:	07 Jan 2019 11:40
Last Modified:	11 Oct 2019 14:51
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/37480

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