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Biomedical subjects

J P Cleveland

Publications and source records attributed to J P Cleveland.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Measuring the viscoelastic properties of human platelets with the atomic force microscope.

We have measured force curves as a function of the lateral position on top of human platelets with the atomic force microscope. These force curves show the indentation of the cell as the tip loads the sample. By analyzing these force curves we were able to determine the elastic modulus of the platelet with a lateral resolution of approximately 100 nm. The elastic moduli were in a range of 1-50 kPa measured in the frequency range of 1-50 Hz. Loading forces could be controlled with a resolution of 80 pN and indentations of the platelet could be determined with a resolution of 20 nm.

Biophysical Phenomena

Protein tracking and detection of protein motion using atomic force microscopy.

Height fluctuations over three different proteins, immunoglobulin G, urease, and microtubules, have been measured using an atomic force microscope (AFM) operating in fluid tapping mode. This was achieved by using a protein-tracking system, where the AFM tip was periodically repositioned above a single protein molecule (or structure) as thermal drifting occurred. Height (z-piezo signal) data were taken in 1 - or 2-s time slices with the tip over the molecule and compared to data taken on the support. The measured fluctuations were consistently higher when the tip was positioned over the protein, as opposed to the support the protein was adsorbed on. Similar measurements over patches of an amphiphile, where the noise was identical to that on the support, suggest that the noise increase is due to some intrinsic property of proteins and is not a result of different tip-sample interactions over soft samples. The orientation of the adsorbed proteins in these preliminary studies was not known; thus it was not possible to make correlations between the observed motion and specific protein structure or protein function beyond noting that the observed height fluctuations were greater for an antibody (anti-bovine IgG) and an enzyme (urease) than for microtubules.

Animals

Mapping interaction forces with the atomic force microscope.

Force curves were recorded as the sample was raster-scanned under the tip. This opens new opportunities for imaging with the atomic force microscope: several characteristics of the samples can be measured simultaneously, for example, topography, adhesion forces, elasticity, van der Waals, and electrostatic interactions. The new opportunities are illustrated by images of several characteristics of thin metal films, aggregates of lysozyme, and single molecules of DNA.

Adsorption