Emergency Replacement of a Piezoelectric Positioner for a High-Resolution Single Molecule Atomic Force Microscope

这项设备赠款将允许申请者购买一台定制的高分辨率原子力显微镜(AFM)的压电式定位器的紧急更换，以在单分子水平上表征蛋白质的纳米机械特性和蛋白质的折叠-展开动力学。这种定制的原子力显微镜是专门为蛋白质的单分子力谱研究而设计的，是我们研究计划的主要和必要的研究工具。我们的研究计划专注于开发基于单分子力谱的使能技术，以应对生命科学和材料科学中的挑战；并通过在单分子水平上对弹性蛋白质的分子序列进行编程，从而合理地定制基于蛋白质的生物材料的机械性能，从而实现纳米机械性能。所提出的压电式定位器是AFM的关键部件，用于替换我们定制的AFM装置中出现故障的定位器。自2020年12月以来，这个压电式定位器的故障已经完全禁用了我们的AFM设置，并严重影响了我们的研究计划，因为许多实验不能再进行。这次更换将使我们能够完全修复我们的AFM设置，并在不列颠哥伦比亚省重建这个最先进的研究设施。这种完全修复的AFM设置将恢复我们在单分子力谱领域进行一些最先进的测量的能力，所获得的知识将极大地促进我们在单分子水平上理解蛋白质的折叠机制，并使用自下而上的方法合理设计具有定制机械性能的生物材料。

This equipment grant will allow the applicant to purchase an emergency replacement of a piezoelectric positioner for a custom-built high-resolution atomic force microscope (AFM), for characterizing the nanomechanical properties of proteins and folding-unfolding dynamics of proteins at the single molecule level. This custom-built AFM was specifically designed for single molecule force spectroscopy studies of proteins and had been the main and essential research tool for our research program. Our research program is focused on developing single molecule force spectroscopy-based enabling technologies to address challenges in life sciences and material sciences; and rationally tailoring mechanical properties of protein-based biomaterials by programming the molecular sequence, and thus nanomechanical properties, of elastomeric proteins at the single-molecule level. The proposed piezoelectric positioner, which is the key component of the AFM, is to replace a failed one in our custom built AFM setup. The breakdown of this piezoelectric positioner has completely disabled our AFM setup since December of 2020 and significantly impacted our research program, as many experiments can no longer be carried out. This replacement will allow us to fully repair our AFM setup, and re-establish this state-of-the-art research facility in UBC. This fully repaired AFM setup will restore our ability to run some of the most advanced measurements in the field of single molecule force spectroscopy, and the obtained knowledge will significantly advance our understanding of the folding mechanism of proteins at the single molecule level, and rational design of biomaterials with tailored mechanical properties using a bottom-up approach.