MRI: Development of an Atomic Force Microscope with Atomic Scale Stability for Biological Studies in Water

MRI：开发具有原子尺度稳定性的原子力显微镜，用于水中生物学研究

• 批准号: 0923544
• 负责人: Thomas Perkins
• 金额: $ 59.84万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-15 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0923544&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Development; Atomic; Force; Microscope

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award is awarded to the University of Colorado for the development of a novel ultrastable atomic force microscope (US-AFM) designed to address the pressing need in structural biology for an atomically precise tool to study protein structure and conformational dynamics. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is limited by unwanted mechanical drift between the tip and sample. This limitation is exacerbated by environmental perturbations, which occur in biologically relevant conditions (room temperature in liquid). To be broadly applicable, operation and control of US-AFM needs to be user-friendly, robust, and reliable for room temperature operation in liquid. The resulting instrumentation allows the atomic sensitivity of AFM to be fully exploited for a range of disciplines, including biology, physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology. Student participation in this project is an outstanding research and educational experience because of its multi-disciplinary nature. Results from these studies will be presented by students and faculty at regional or national meetings, and published in peer-reviewed journals.

该主要研究仪器（MRI）奖授予科罗拉多大学，用于开发一种新型超稳定原子力显微镜（US-AFM），旨在解决结构生物学对原子精确工具的迫切需求，以研究蛋白质结构和构象动力学。原子力显微镜（AFM）受到针尖和样品之间不必要的机械漂移的限制。这种限制会因环境扰动而加剧，这些扰动发生在生物相关条件下（室温下的液体）。为了广泛应用，US-AFM的操作和控制需要用户友好，鲁棒性和可靠性，以在液体中的室温操作。由此产生的仪器允许原子力显微镜的原子灵敏度被充分利用的一系列学科，包括生物学，物理学，化学和纳米技术。学生参与这个项目是一个杰出的研究和教育经验，因为它的多学科性质。 这些研究的结果将由学生和教师在地区或国家会议上提出，并发表在同行评审的期刊上。