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

这一重大研究仪器(MRI)奖授予科罗拉多大学，以表彰其开发新型超稳定原子力显微镜(US-AFM)，旨在满足结构生物学对原子精密工具研究蛋白质结构和构象动力学的迫切需求。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。环境扰动加剧了这种限制，这种扰动发生在与生物相关的条件下(液体中的室温)。为了得到广泛的应用，US-AFM的操作和控制需要用户友好、健壮和可靠，以适应室温下的液体操作。由此产生的仪器使原子力显微镜的原子敏感性在包括生物、物理、化学和纳米技术在内的一系列学科中得到充分利用。学生参与这个项目是一次杰出的研究和教育体验，因为它是多学科的。这些研究的结果将由学生和教职员工在地区或国家会议上公布，并发表在同行评议的期刊上。

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.