生物单分子力谱技术的研究进展

近年来,单分子力谱技术获得了快速发展和广泛应用。通过单分子力谱技术研究生物分子结构、力学及动力学,在单分子水平上揭示生物分子间相互作用机制,对于深入了解生物分子的特异识别、生化过程以及生物分子结构与功能的关系具有重要意义。本文主要介绍了3种最常见的单分子力谱技术:原子力显微镜(AFM),光镊(OT)和磁镊(MT)。另外,还侧重从不同力谱技术的原理、发展及应用三个方面简要介绍了3种大规模并行测量的单分子力谱技术:声力谱(AFS)、离心力显微镜(CFM)以及力诱导剩磁谱技术(FIRMS)。     

基于原子力显微镜的高分子单分子力学研究

原子力显微镜(AFM)从根本上改变了人们对单个原子和分子的作用和认识方式。单分子力谱是基于原子力显微镜力的测量方法。概速了近年来利用基于原子力显微镜的单分子力谱研究单个高分子分子内及分子闻作用力的进展。     

聚合物单分子力谱的研究进展

在单分子水平研究聚合物体系的分子内及分子间相互作用, 对于揭示其结构-性能的关系, 进而实现对相应功能的调控极为重要. 基于原子力显微镜技术(AFM)的单分子力谱, 由于其操作简单且适用面广, 在单分子研究领域得到了广泛的应用. 本文概括了该技术在生物高分子及合成高分子体系的研究进展. 对于生物高分子体系, 主要介绍了核酸(DNA/RNA)、 蛋白质和多糖(淀粉)的单分子力谱研究及利用各自力学指纹谱对其它分子间的相互作用的研究. 对于合成高分子体系, 主要介绍了聚合物的一级结构与单链弹性的关系及溶剂和聚集态结构等对高分子单链力学性质的影响规律.     

原子力显微镜-荧光显微镜联用技术在活细胞单分子检测中的应用

原子力显微镜(Atomic force microscopy,AFM)及荧光显微镜(Fluorescence microscopy,FM)是目前活细胞单分子分析检测中最常用的两种工具.结合两种显微镜的优势,发展高时空分辨、多功能的AFM-FM联用技术成为近年该领域的研究热点.本文简述了AFM单分子力谱和FM单分子荧光成像的原理,总结了AFM-FM联用系统在仪器研制方面的发展概况,并结合本课题组在应用AFM-FM联用技术研究细胞膜上配受体相互作用等方面的工作,介绍了其在活细胞单分子检测中的应用进展.     

AFM单分子力谱在真实材料及生物体系中的应用——挑战与机遇并存

基于原子力显微镜技术（AFM）的单分子力谱是研究分子间分子内相互作用的有效手段．为了简化样品体系及数据的解析,真实的生物或材料体系通常被简化,其中的目标分子被提取并桥连于AFM的针尖与固体基片之间进行研究,这是认识真实体系的有效途径．随着技术的不断进步（包括样品固定方法的改进）,使得直接研究真实生物及材料体系中的各种弱相互作用成为可能,此种条件下获得的信息对相关生命过程的调控及高性能材料的设计更具指导意义．本文概述了近几年基于AFM力谱技术在活体细胞以及高分子材料领域的研究进展,分析了存在的主要问题,并对相关领域的未来进行了展望．     

分子间相互作用力的直接测量

结合我们近期的研究工作,着重介绍如何将分子组装与单分子力谱相结合,从单分子水平直接研究分子间相互作用力,包括π-π相互作用、多价作用及嵌入作用.在实验中,将一个相互作用单元通过高分子间隔基共价连接到原子力显微镜针尖上,并将另一相互作用单元共价修饰到基底上,通过压电陶瓷管的移动获得力与拉伸长度的曲线.高分子柔性间隔基团的引入既可用来作为判别单链拉伸的"内标",又可避免非特异相互作用对待测的特异相互作用的影响.研究表明,结合静态和动态力学谱,不仅能够实现分子间相互作用力的直接测量,而且还可获得解离速率和相互作用的距离等参数.     

硫醚-金配位相互作用的单分子力谱研究

利用基于原子力显微镜的单分子力谱技术,定量研究了独立状态下自组装单层膜中的单个硫醚-金相互作用强度,并从单分子水平探讨了外界因素对硫-金配位键强度的影响.结果表明,硫醚分子以配位键形式与金基底结合;与还原金表面相比,氧化金表面能够加强硫-金作用强度;另外,溶剂对其硫-金配位键强度也产生影响.     

聚苯乙炔衍生物的纳米力学性质

基于原子力显微镜技术的单分子力谱方法及圆二色谱法,从单分子水平定量研究了侧链带有酰胺键的聚苯乙炔衍生物所形成的螺旋结构稳定性及影响因素.单分子力谱实验结果表明,向体系中掺杂碘单质后,高分子主链螺旋结构稳定性下降,力谱拉伸曲线平台力值降低;升高溶液pH值后,高分子主链螺旋结构完整性下降,力谱拉伸曲线平台长度缩短.     

活细胞单分子力谱研究阿托伐他汀对ICAM-1与CD11b相互作用的影响

调节细胞黏附的整合素蛋白CD11b与其配体ICAM-1的相互作用在动脉粥样硬化的炎症进程中起至关重要的作用.阿托伐他汀(Atorvastatin,ATV)作为他汀类药物中的主要成员,以其良好的降脂作用广泛应用于动脉粥样硬化疾病的临床治疗,同时大量证据表明ATV还具有独立的抗炎作用,但其具体分子机制尚未完全明确.我们应用活细胞单分子力谱法研究了ATV干预对ICAM-1/CD11b相互作用的影响.结果表明原子力显微镜(AFM)在活细胞表面测得单对黏附分子ICAM-1/CD11b的相互作用力值约为40pN,ATV不能通过直接阻断ICAM-1或CD11b影响其单分子黏附力,而抗ICAM-1单克隆抗体则有效降低了此对黏附分子作用力.此外,流式结果表明ATV干预有效抑制了肿瘤坏死因子(TNF-α)诱导的人脐静脉内皮细胞(HUVEC)表面ICAM-1表达增加.本研究建立的方法模型可作为活细胞体系研究临床药物影响细胞黏附分子间相互作用及抗炎机制的重要手段.     

聚乙烯单晶纳米力学性质的单分子力谱研究

基于原子力显微镜(AFM)的单分子力谱技术(SMFS),在单分子水平上研究聚乙烯单晶中单分子链在外力诱导下的熔融过程.研究表明,随着聚乙烯单晶厚度的增加,熔融解链过程需要破坏的作用位点随之增加,解链力值显著提高;刚性力加载装置会降低作用位点解离速率,进而升高解链力值,促进力学稳定性相对较差的中间态形成.     

Direct Identification of Protein–Protein Interactions by Single‐Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Single‐molecule force spectroscopy based on atomic force microscopy (AFM‐SMFS) has allowed the measurement of the intermolecular forces involved in protein‐protein interactions at the molecular level. While intramolecular interactions are routinely identified directly by the use of polyprotein fingerprinting, there is a lack of a general method to directly identify single‐molecule intermolecular unbinding events. Here, we have developed an internally controlled strategy to measure protein–protein interactions by AFM‐SMFS that allows the direct identification of dissociation force peaks while ensuring single‐molecule conditions. Single‐molecule identification is assured by polyprotein fingerprinting while the intermolecular interaction is reported by a characteristic increase in contour length released after bond rupture. The latter is due to the exposure to force of a third protein that covalently connects the interacting pair. We demonstrate this strategy with a cohesin–dockerin interaction.     

液体环境单分子免疫球蛋白G的原子力显微镜高分辨成像

原子力显微镜技术( AFM)具有纳米级高分辨成像能力,是研究生物大分子结构和功能的重要工具之一。制备合适的样品是获取高分辨成像的关键要素。本研究结合DNA折纸技术,将抗原分子修饰在DNA折纸上,通过分子识别作用,抗体分子与抗原分子特异性结合,形成由DNA折纸和抗原抗体复合物构成的纳米结构。利用DNA折纸在云母表面上的吸附特点,使得抗体分子选择性地吸附在衬底表面上,由此获得了液体环境中的单个地高辛抗体免疫球蛋白G( IgG)分子的“Y”超微结构形貌。本方法简单、方便,为AFM在单分子水平上检测和表征生物分子结构和功能提供帮助。     

Unbinding Molecular Recognition Force Maps of Localized Single Receptor Molecules by Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic force microscopy is a technique capable to study biological recognition processes at the single‐molecule level. In this work we operate the AFM in a force‐scan based mode, the jumping mode, where simultaneous topographic and tip–sample adhesion maps are acquired. This approach obtains the unbinding force between a well‐defined receptor molecule and a ligand attached to the AFM tip. The method is applied to the avidin–biotin system. In contrast with previous data, we obtain laterally resolved adhesion maps of avidin–biotin unbinding forces highly correlated with single avidin molecules in the corresponding topographic map. The scanning rate 250 pixel s^?1 (2 min for a 128×128 image) is limited by the hydrodynamic drag force. We are able to build a rupture‐force distribution histogram that corresponds to a single defined molecule. Furthermore, we find that due to the motility of the polymer used as spacer to anchor the ligand to the tip, its direction at rupture does not generally coincide with the normal to the tip–sample, this introduces an appreciable error in the measured force.     

Force Spectroscopy of Individual Stimulus‐Responsive Poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane) Chains: Towards a Redox‐Driven Macromolecular Motor

Summary: Progress in the development of a redox‐driven macromolecular motor and the characterization of its redox‐mechanical cycle using electrochemical AFM‐based single‐molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is described. The elasticities of individual neutral and oxidized poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane) (PFS) macromolecules were reversibly controlled in situ by adjusting the potential in electrochemical SMFS experiments. For the operating cycle of one individual PFS‐based molecular motor, an output of 3.4 × 10⁻¹⁹ J and an efficiency of 5% have been estimated.

Force‐extension curves of a single‐molecule motor.     

Energy Landscape of Aptamer/Protein Complexes Studied by Single‐Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Aptamers are single‐stranded nucleic acid molecules selected in vitro to bind to a variety of target molecules. Aptamers bound to proteins are emerging as a new class of molecules that rival commonly used antibodies in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. With the increasing application of aptamers as molecular probes for protein recognition, it is important to understand the molecular mechanism of aptamer–protein interaction. Recently, we developed a method of using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the single‐molecule rupture force of aptamer/protein complexes. In this work, we investigate further the unbinding dynamics of aptamer/protein complexes and their dissociation‐energy landscape by AFM. The dependence of single‐molecule force on the AFM loading rate was plotted for three aptamer/protein complexes and their dissociation rate constants, and other parameters characterizing their dissociation pathways were obtained. Furthermore, the single‐molecule force spectra of three aptamer/protein complexes were compared to those of the corresponding antibody/protein complexes in the same loading‐rate range. The results revealed two activation barriers and one intermediate state in the unbinding process of aptamer/protein complexes, which is different from the energy landscape of antibody/protein complexes. The results provide new information for the study of aptamer–protein interaction at the molecular level.     

Surface‐Charge Differentiation of Streptavidin and Avidin by Atomic Force Microscopy–Force Spectroscopy

Chemical information can be obtained by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and force spectroscopy (FS) with atomic or molecular resolution, even in liquid media. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that single molecules of avidin and streptavidin anchored to a biotinylated bilayer can be differentiated by using AFM, even though AFM topographical images of the two proteins are remarkably alike. At physiological pH, the basic glycoprotein avidin is positively charged, whereas streptavidin is a neutral protein. This charge difference can be determined with AFM, which can probe electrostatic double‐layer forces by using FS. The force curves, owing to the electrostatic interaction, show major differences when measured on top of each protein as well as on the lipid substrate. FS data show that the two proteins are negatively charged. Nevertheless, avidin and streptavidin can be clearly distinguished, thus demonstrating the sensitivity of AFM to detect small changes in the charge state of macromolecules.     

Single‐Molecule Force Spectroscopy on Carrageenan by Means of AFM

A marked difference in force‐extension curves is observed for carrageenan before and after adding NaI buffer in single‐molecule force spectroscopy by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). The salt‐induced helix conformation in carrageenan treated with an 0.1 M NaI solution was unfolded under the external force, and a long plateau about 300 pN high could be observed in the force‐extension curves.     

Quantitative Assessment of Tip Effects in Single‐Molecule High‐Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Using DNA Origami Substrates

High‐speed atomic force microscopy (HS‐AFM) is widely employed in the investigation of dynamic biomolecular processes at a single‐molecule level. However, it remains an open and somewhat controversial question, how these processes are affected by the rapidly scanned AFM tip. While tip effects are commonly believed to be of minor importance in strongly binding systems, weaker interactions may significantly be disturbed. Herein, we quantitatively assess the role of tip effects in a strongly binding system using a DNA origami‐based single‐molecule assay. Despite its femtomolar dissociation constant, we find that HS‐AFM imaging can disrupt monodentate binding of streptavidin (SAv) to biotin (Bt) even under gentle scanning conditions. To a lesser extent, this is also observed for the much stronger bidentate SAv–Bt complex. The presented DNA origami‐based assay can be universally employed to quantify tip effects in strongly and weakly binding systems and to optimize the experimental settings for their reliable HS‐AFM imaging.