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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an exciting technique for biophysical studies of single molecules, but its usefulness is limited by instrumental drift. We dramatically reduced positional drift by adding two lasers to track and thereby actively stabilize the tip and the surface. These lasers also enabled label-free optical images that were spatially aligned to the tip position. Finally, sub-pN force stability over 100 s was achieved by removing the gold coating from soft cantilevers. These enhancements to AFM instrumentation can immediately benefit research in biophysics and nanoscience.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2014.04.033 | DOI Listing |
Nanoscale
September 2025
Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK.
The mechanical properties of the polymeric substrate or matrix where a cell grows affect cell behavior. Most studies have focused on relating elastic properties of polymeric substrates, which are time-independent, to cell behaviors. However, polymeric substrates and biological systems exhibit a time-dependent, often viscoelastic, mechanical response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiophys J
September 2025
Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics and Medical Science, State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, School of Aerospace Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China. Electronic address:
The mechanical properties of cells are crucial for elucidating various physiological and pathological processes. Cells are found to exhibit a universal power-law rheological behavior at low frequencies. While they behave in a different manner at high frequency regimes, which leaves the transition region largely unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
September 2025
Shenzhen College of Advanced Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; Research Center for Cancer Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China. Electronic
Within the bone microenvironment, the intricate interplay and regulation among matrix components form a complex network. Disentangling this network is crucial for uncovering potential therapeutic targets in bone pathology. Osteocalcin (OCN), the most abundant non-collagenous bone protein, is an essential node within this network.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Chem Theory Comput
September 2025
Materials DX Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan.
The quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) method is a powerful approach for investigating solid surfaces in contact with various types of media, since it allows for flexible modeling of complex interfaces while maintaining an all-atom representation. The mean-field QM/MM method is an average reaction field model within the QM/MM framework. The method addresses the challenges associated with the statistical sampling of interfacial atomic configurations of a medium and enables efficient calculation of free energies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLangmuir
September 2025
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
The surfaces of 1D layered lepidocrocite-structured titanates (1DLs) are negatively charged due to an oxygen-to-titanium atomic ratio >2. This, and their layered structure, allow for facile ion exchange and high colloidal stability, demonstrated by ζ-potentials of ≈ -85 mV at their unadjusted pH of ≈10.4.
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