Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging of static DNA-protein complexes, in air and in liquid, can be used to directly obtain quantitative and qualitative information on the structure of different complexes. For example, DNA length, the location of preferential binding sites for proteins and bending of DNA as a result of the complexation can all be measured. Recording consecutive AFM images of DNA and protein molecules under conditions that they are still able to move and interact, or dynamic AFM imaging, however, can reveal information on the dynamic aspects of the interactions between these molecules. Here, an overview is given of the technical challenges that need to be considered for successful dynamic AFM imaging studies of individual DNA-protein interactions. Necessary technical improvements to the AFM set-up and the development of new sample preparation methods are described in this paper. 相似文献
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies on bipyridine (bpy) containing block copolymer systems showed the formation
of nanoscopic polymer–ion complexes through complexation with copper(I) ions which segregated to highly ordered columnar domains
of mesoscopic dimensions. The domains, i.e. stacks of [(bpy)2Cu(I)] complex moieties could be visualized by complementary TEM techniques. First, electron energy loss spectra (EELS) showed
the absorption edges of copper and nitrogen, which are specific for the bipyridine copper complexes. The element spectroscopic
imaging (ESI) technique allowed the imaging of the net copper and net nitrogen distribution, and the coinciding pictures exhibited
a microphase separated system in the case of a 3-block copolymer with complexed end segments. High resolution elastic bright
field images showed interference lines with a line to line distance of about 8 A which could be related to the Cu–Cu distance
in staggered Cu(I)–bipyridine complexes.
Received: 6 August 1997 Accepted: 28 April 1998 相似文献
Thin layers of cellulose I nanocrystals were spin-coated onto silicon wafers to give a flat model cellulose surface. A mild heat treatment was required to stabilize the cellulose layer. Interactions of this surface with polyelectrolyte layers and multilayers were probed by atomic force microscopy in water and dilute salt solutions. Deflection–distance curves for standard silicon nitride tips were measured for silicon, cellulose-coated silicon, and for polyelectrolytes adsorbed on the cellulose surface. Transfer of polymer to the tip was checked by running deflection–distance curves against clean silicon. Deflection–distance curves were relatively insensitive to adsorbed polyelectrolyte, but salt addition caused transfer of cationic polyelectrolyte to the tip, and swelling of the polyelectrolyte multilayers. 相似文献
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/silica/titania ternary nanocomposites with covalent bonding interaction between polymer and inorganic phases have been prepared using a novel non-hydrolytic sol-gel method. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of silica/titania binary inorganic component indicates a core-shell-like structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images suggest that the well dispersed silica/titania particles in the hybrid are on the nanometer-scale. The transparencies of nanocomposites are maintained in visible region while the absorption band in ultraviolet (UV) region is red shifted with increasing inorganic content. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results show that the thermal stability of PMMA copolymer increases dramatically with the addition of silica/titania moieties both in nitrogen and in air. 相似文献
Aggregation process of isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (i-PMMA) has been studied extensively for many years, and considerable progress has been made in both experimental and theoretical studies. They are, however, seldom sustained by real-space observations of the underlying morphology. In this paper, the aggregation process of i-PMMA in concentrated acetone solutions and the fractal structure of the resulting three-dimensional clusters were characterized on the basis of real-space AFM observations of their two-dimensional projection. It was found that spherical multiple-chain particles formed upon collapse and aggregation of the involving chains as a whole during quenching the solution to room temperature. By keeping the solution at room temperature, the initially formed particles stick together upon contact to form larger particles through reassembling very slowly. The succeeding collision of the enlarged spherical particles leads to the formation of small clusters. These newly formed small clusters grow when they meet with other clusters or single Brownian particles. This leads to the formation of large clusters with fractal dimension of 1.95$±0.05, which suggest a reaction-limited cluster aggregation of i-PMMA in a concentrated acetone solution. This is in accordance with the conclusion obtained by light scattering measurements. 相似文献
In recent years, the self-assembled growth of semiconductor nanostructures, that show quantum size effects, has been of considerable interest. Laser devices operating with self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in GaAs have been demonstrated. Here, we report on the InAs/GaAs system and raise the question of how the shape of the QDs changes with the orientation of the GaAs substrate. The growth of the InAs QDs is understood in terms of the Stranski–Krastanow growth mode. For modeling the growth process, the shape and atomic structure of the QDs have to be known. This is a difficult task for such embedded entities.
In our approach, InAs is grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs until self-assembled QDs are formed. At this point the growth is interrupted and atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images are acquired. We used preparation parameters known from the numerous publications on InAs/GaAs. In order to learn more about the self-assemblage process we studied QD formation on different GaAs(0 0 1), (1 1 3)A, and (
)B substrates. From the atomically resolved STM images we could determine the shape of the QDs. The quantum “dots” are generally rather flat entities better characterized as “lenses”. In order to achieve this flatness, the QDs are terminated by high-index bounding facets on low-index substrates and vice versa. Our results will be summarized in comparison with the existing literature. 相似文献
An exfoliated layered double hydroxides/poly(methyl methacrylate)(LDHs/PMMA)nanocomposite was prepared by in situ solution polymerization of methyl methacrylate(MMA)in the presence of 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate intercalated LDHs(MgAl-VBS LDHs).MgAl-VBS LDHs was prepared by the ion exchange method,and the structure and composition of the MgA1-VBS LDHs were determined by X-ray diffraction(XRD),infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis.XRD and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)were employed to examine the structure of LDHs/PMMA nanocomposite.It was indicated that the LDHs layers were well exfoliated and dispersed in the PMMA matrix.The grafting of PMMA onto LDHs was confirmed by the extraction result and the weight fraction of grafted PMMA increased as the weight fraction of LDHs in the nanocomposites increased. 相似文献