Imaging biological structures with the cryo atomic force microscope.
Imaging biological structures with the cryo atomic force microscope.
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DOI：
10.1016/s0006-3495(96)79418-3
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发表时间：
1996-10
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Yiyi Zhang;Jun Sheng;Zhifeng Shao
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Yiyi Zhang;Jun Sheng;Zhifeng Shao
长期以来，人们已经认识到，生物原子力显微镜（AFM）的主要限制之一是大多数生物样品的柔软性，由于接触区域的高压，特别是来自高分辨率所需的非常尖锐的针尖，这些生物样品很容易被AFM针尖变形或损坏。另一种是室温下由于热涨落引起的分子运动。使用原子力显微镜在液氮蒸气（cryo-AFM）中操作，我们证明，cryo-AFM可以应用于各种各样的生物样品，从免疫球蛋白到DNA细胞表面。与AFM在室温下与类似的标本相比，低温原子力显微镜实现的分辨率大大提高，是可比的随机取向的大分子的低温电子显微镜。我们还将讨论仍有待解决的技术问题，以实现更高的分辨率与冷冻原子力显微镜和其他可能的应用，这种新技术。
It has long been recognized that one of the major limitations in biological atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the softness of most biological samples, which are easily deformed or damaged by the AFM tip, because of the high pressure in the contact area, especially from the very sharp tips required for high resolution. Another is the molecular motion present at room temperature due to thermal fluctuation. Using an AFM operated in liquid nitrogen vapor (cryo-AFM), we demonstrate that cryo-AFM can be applied to a large variety of biological samples, from immunoglobulins to DNA to cell surfaces. The resolution achieved with cryo-AFM is much improved when compared with AFM at room temperature with similar specimens, and is comparable to that of cryo-electron microscopy on randomly oriented macromolecules. We will also discuss the technical problems that remain to be solved for achieving even higher resolution with cryo-AFM and other possible applications of this novel technique.