Current Nanoscience - Volume 3, Issue 1, 2007

In this special issue of Current Nanoscience, ten invited reviews on nanomechanics of atomic and molecular systems written by expert scholars in respective fields are presented. Driven by rapid advancement both on experimental and theoretical fronts, the interest of nano-oriented scientists and engineers is now focused on elucidating precise mechanisms of the rate altering effect of externally applied force on the atomic an Read More

Many proteins react or respond to mechanical force as part of their function. Until recently the mechanical properties of proteins on the nanoscale were unknown as techniques that allowed their manipulation and measurement were not available. Over the last decade, development of robust instruments capable of picoNewton force sensitivity and sub-nanometre positional accuracy has allowed such experiments to be routinel Read More

This paper reviews a recent progress of molecular level studies on the rigidity of surface immobilized as well as membrane bound proteins embedded in the lipid bilayer. Some details and emphasis are given to the work done in our laboratory in the last few years. Immobilization of protein molecules on a solid surface through covalent crosslinkers on one side and to the probe of the atomic force microscope on the o Read More

An atomic force microscope (AFM) under noncontact and nearcontact regions operated at room-temperature (RT) in ultrahigh vacuum, is used as a tool for topography-based atomic discrimination and lateral atomic manipulations of two intermixed atomic species on semiconductor surfaces. Noncontact AFM topography can give height difference between two intermixed atomic species. Therefore, noncontact AFM topography Read More

Force spectroscopy provides a direct approach for probing biological interactions at the single-molecule level. Tethered systems, in which flexible polymer linkers connect the interacting molecules to the surfaces of the atomic force microscope probe and sample, provide a particularly attractive platform for studying such interactions. We will review the basic physical principles of force spectroscopy measurements in th Read More

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) enables high resolution topographic imaging of biological samples under near-physiological conditions. Therefore, the AFM is optimally suited for investigation of biological membranes and cell surfaces, as exemplified by studies on bacterial S-layers, purple membranes and cultured living cells. Topographic imaging allows visualizing single proteins and protein assemblies in native membranes Read More

Current topics are introduced from the results for the JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency) project for the development of the theoretical simulator of scanning probe microscopy. In spite of the crucial role played by the theoretical simulation for understanding experimental results, the theoretical calculations so far tried have been computationally very demanding. Thus one of the aim of this project is the development o Read More

Cells bind to each other and to surfaces using complementary receptor-ligand pairs as an essential part of their function. The mechanical forces that build up on these bonds was assumed to weaken them until three receptor-ligand complexes were shown to form catch bonds that are instead strengthened by mechanical force. This review analyzes the experimental data for these complexes to better understand this counterint Read More

Studies conducted during the past few decades have revealed the existence of a close connection between the mechanical responses of biological structures to stimuli and the functions of different cells, tissues and organs. The cornerstone to understanding this chain of reactions lies in a knowledge of the mechanical properties of the structures implicated in the transduction of mechanical signals. A progress in this directio Read More

Scanning probe microscope (SPM) has been developed as a powerful tool for obtaining high resolution topographic images of biological samples in their natural aqueous environment. SPM can also be used to evaluate mechanical properties because its probe is physically in contact with the samples during measurement. To obtain cellular stiffness with SPM, we have proposed two methods: a force modulation mode and a for Read More

We briefly review the nanomechanical studies of ultralow friction in the following carbon hybrid systems: atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip on graphite surface, AFM tip on C60/graphite, graphite on graphite surface, graphite/C60/graphite, and C60 intercalated graphite. For the atomic and flake frictions, frictional force maps are compared between simulations and experiments, which can be explained by stick-slip motion of Read More