Microtribological Studies of Poly(ether ether ketone) by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and its modification-lateral force microscope (LFM) are becoming increasingly important in the understanding of microfriction and nanomechanical property measurements. In the present paper, the AFM, LFM and a modified AFM-lithography technique are described, and data on microtribilogical studies of PEEK are presented. For comparisons, macro-scale friction measurements were also made on PEEK by the use of a block-on-ring testing facility. It was observed that macro-scale friction is higher than that on the microscale. Lower value of micro-scale friction as compared to macro-scale fiction may be because of less ploughing contribution in the micro-scale measurement.     

Sublimation and Diffusion Kinetics of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) Single Crystals by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

In this article, we report the in-situ nanoscale experimental measurement of sublimation rates, activation energy of sublimation, and diffusion coefficients of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) single crystals in air using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The crystals were prepared by slow evaporation at 5 °C using acetone-dissolved TNT. The mass loss was calculated by monitoring the shrinkage of the surface area of layered islands formed on the surface of the TNT crystals due to sublimation upon isothermal heating at temperatures below the melting point. The results suggest the sublimation process occurs via two-dimensional detachment of TNT molecules from the non-prominent facets on the crystal surface which imitates the nucleation and crystal growth process. Sublimation rates are one order of magnitude smaller than previously reported values. However, the calculated activation energy (112.15 ± 3.2 kJ/mol) and temperature-dependent sublimation rates agree well with the reported values for TNT thin films and microcrystals determined by UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy and quartz crystal microscopy (QCM) (90–141 kJ/mol). The average diffusion coefficient is (4.35 × 10^–6 m²/s) which is within the range of the reported theoretical values with an average of 5.59 × 10^–6 m²/s, and about 25% less than that determined using thermogravimetric analysis for powder TNT.     

原子力显微镜与透射电镜对比研究嵌段共聚物微相分离形态

嵌段共聚物微观相分离形态结构由于其理论与应用中的重要性一直是人们研究的热点 [1] .本文研究的聚苯乙烯 -聚乙烯 /聚丁烯 -聚苯乙烯三嵌段共聚物 (SEBS)为聚苯乙烯 -聚丁二烯 -聚苯乙烯 (SBS)饱和加氢后的产物 .由于中间嵌段中的双键大多已加氢饱和 ,过去一直没有合适的染色剂进行染色 ,所以在 2 0世纪 80年代中期以前 ,SEBS形态结构未见文献报道 [1] .近年来 ,由于新型染色剂 Ru O4 的应用 ,使得用透射电镜 (TEM)观察其微相分离形态成为可能 .　　随着对嵌段共聚物形态结构认识程度深入 ,人们迫切希望能有新的手段提供更加丰富的…     

New Approach to the Study of Particle-Surface Adhesion Using Atomic Force Microscopy

The colloidal probe technique is commonly employed to determine the adhesion force between a particle and a solid surface. Characterization of the adhesion of a particle across a surface can be as important, if not more so, as the determination of an average value for the adhesion. Unfortunately, the measurement of the variation in adhesion can be difficult at best. A new approach for studying particle-surface adhesion based on the force-volume technique is presented. Upon combining the force-volume technique with a colloidal probe, not only is it possible to determine the average adhesion force, but an image of the spatial variation of the adhesion can also be obtained. This method is envisioned to have great potential for examining and analyzing the adhesion behavior in complex natural and technological systems. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯/苯乙烯-丙烯腈无规共聚物薄膜表面原位原子力显微镜相图

采用原位原子力显微镜在线跟踪方法,研究了聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯/苯乙烯 丙烯腈无规共聚物共混体系表面相分离行为,得到了具有下临界共溶温度（临界温度约为175 ℃）原位相图。 与文献报道的用离位方法所得结果的主要差别是原位的临界相分离温度稍有提高,以及离位结果中存在的组成对称性。 这些差别主要来源于离位和原位实验方法上的差别,薄膜厚度减小导致的相容性,热力学历史的变化以及基底效应的加剧。     

Understanding the Rhodopsin Worldview Through Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM): Structure,Stability, and Activity Studies

Rhodopsin is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) present in the rod outer segment (ROS) of photoreceptor cells that initiates the phototransduction cascade required for scotopic vision. Due to the remarkable advancements in technological tools, the chemistry of rhodopsin has begun to unravel especially over the past few decades, but mostly at the ensemble scale. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a tool capable of providing critical information from a single-molecule point of view. In this regard, to bolster our understanding of rhodopsin at the nanoscale level, AFM-based imaging, force spectroscopy, and nano-indentation techniques were employed on ROS disc membranes containing rhodopsin, isolated from vertebrate species both in normal and diseased states. These AFM studies on samples from native retinal tissue have provided fundamental insights into the structure and function of rhodopsin under normal and dysfunctional states. We review here the findings from these AFM studies that provide important insights on the supramolecular organization of rhodopsin within the membrane and factors that contribute to this organization, the molecular interactions stabilizing the structure of the receptor and factors that can modify those interactions, and the mechanism underlying constitutive activity in the receptor that can cause disease.     

Observation of Organic Thin Film Surface by Atomic Force Microscopy

The 8-hydroxyquinoline neodymium(Ndq3) organic thin films deposited on the cleaned indium/tin oxide (ITO) at different deposition rates with the same vacuity (133.3×10^-5 Pa) were revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Organic devices with one layer of Ndq3 as the e-type conductive material at different deposition rates sandwiched between ITO and aluminum electrodes have been fabricated. respectively. Evidence suggests that the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics were determined by the uniformity of organic film which was controlled by the deposition conditions.     

Surface Assembly of DNA Origami on a Lipid Bilayer Observed Using High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy

The micrometer-scale assembly of various DNA nanostructures is one of the major challenges for further progress in DNA nanotechnology. Programmed patterns of 1D and 2D DNA origami assembly using specific DNA strands and micrometer-sized lattice assembly using cross-shaped DNA origami were performed on a lipid bilayer surface. During the diffusion of DNA origami on the membrane surface, the formation of lattices and their rearrangement in real-time were observed using high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM). The formed lattices were used to further assemble DNA origami tiles into their cavities. Various patterns of lattice–tile complexes were created by changing the interactions between the lattice and tiles. For the control of the nanostructure formation, the photo-controlled assembly and disassembly of DNA origami were performed reversibly, and dynamic assembly and disassembly were observed on a lipid bilayer surface using HS-AFM. Using a lipid bilayer for DNA origami assembly, it is possible to perform a hierarchical assembly of multiple DNA origami nanostructures, such as the integration of functional components into a frame architecture.     

Study of Surface Reaction of Spinel Li(4)Ti(5)O(12) during the First Lithium Insertion and Extraction Processes Using Atomic Force Microscopy and Analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy

Spinel lithium titanate (Li(4)Ti(5)O(12), LTO) is a promising anode material for a lithium ion battery because of its excellent properties such as high rate charge-discharge capability and life cycle stability, which were understood from the viewpoint of bulk properties such as small lattice volume changes by lithium insertion. However, the detailed surface reaction of lithium insertion and extraction has not yet been studied despite its importance to understand the mechanism of an electrochemical reaction. In this paper, we apply both atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to investigate the changes in the atomic and electronic structures of the Li(4)Ti(5)O(12) surface during the charge-discharged (lithium insertion and extraction) processes. The AFM observation revealed that irreversible structural changes of an atomically flat Li(4)Ti(5)O(12) surface occurs at the early stage of the first lithium insertion process, which induces the reduction of charge transfer resistance at the electrolyte/Li(4)Ti(5)O(12) interface. The TEM observation clarified that cubic rock-salt crystal layers with a half lattice size of the original spinel structure are epitaxially formed after the first charge-discharge cycle. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) observation revealed that the formed surface layer should be α-Li(2)TiO(3). Although the transformation of Li(4)Ti(5)O(12) to Li(7)Ti(5)O(12) is well-known as the lithium insertion reaction of the bulk phase, the generation of surface product layers should be inevitable in real charge-discharge processes and may play an effective role in the stable electrode performance as a solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI).     

基于超平表面的原子力显微镜探针磨损研究

探针磨损是影响原子力显微镜图像质量的关键因素之一。为了研究原子力显微镜(AFM)探针针尖磨损问题,选取超平表面(R_q0.5 nm)作为测试样品,采用材料表面的粗糙度(R_q)评估探针针尖磨损效率。在较低的探针悬臂目标振幅比例(10%),较低反馈回路设定值比例(10%),较低扫描速度(1.0 Hz)以及适中I-gain(1.7)的测试条件下,探针的磨损最小,可以有效地延长探针的使用寿命。最后利用扫描电镜对比了不同测试条件下探针针尖的形貌,推测了探针针尖在连续测试中磨损与断裂的机理。     

脱氧核糖核酸变性和损伤的原子力显微镜液相观察

脱氧核糖核酸（DNA）的变性和损伤很大程度地阻碍DNA的复制和转录,所以研究DNA在生理环境下损伤和变性的机理能更好地研究其理化性质,并对基因治疗具有重要意义. 首先使用原子力显微镜（AFM）对气相和液相环境下DNA进行对比,发现液相环境中获得的DNA图像比在气相环境中的更清晰,并且液相中的DNA更柔韧、松弛. 其次研究在液相环境下二甲基亚砜（DMSO）、过氧亚硝酸盐（PN）对DNA形态的影响. 研究发现,随着DMSO浓度增加,DNA的变性程度增强,环状DNA分子由没有缠绕的结构扭转为重叠螺旋的结构. 同时随着PN浓度的增加,线状DNA从自然拉伸变为更加弯曲的状态,而且会断裂成较短的DNA片段. 最后使用模型图加以解释,DMSO和PN使DNA的结构发生变化,变得不稳定后发生损伤和变性.     

Study of Ultrafine Iron Powders by Atomic Force Microscopy

The particles of ultrafine iron powders obtained by three different methods (electrolytic deposition, reduction in hydrogen flow, and grinding in a planetary ball mill in heptane medium) were studied by the atomic force microscopy and the results were compared with the data of electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The shape and size of particles were determined from three-dimensional images obtained by atomic force microscopy, and the grain structure of the particle surface layer was studied by measuring the lateral friction forces.     

基于原子力显微镜的微悬臂传感器测定溶菌酶

提出了一种基于原子力显微镜AFM技术的微悬臂检测溶菌酶的新型传感器技术。通过利用AFM激光束对溶菌酶吸附前后的微悬臂形变程度进行检测,研究了溶菌酶在正十二硫醇修饰微悬臂上的吸附。在最佳条件下,溶菌酶浓度在0.01～100μg/L范围内,其浓度的对数值与微悬臂偏转值呈良好的线性关系,相关系数达到0.998;检出限5.0ng/L。将该法用于药物制剂中溶菌酶含量的测定,获得了满意的结果。     

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy in Organic Chemistry

When Kekulé awoke from dreams of snakes biting their own tails, he didn't have the benefit of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) image to confirm that his vision of benzene as a cyclic molecule was accurate. References to STM in the chemical literature increase steadily, although the technique was perhaps oversold in its early days of the 1980s, with such promises as DNA sequencing and tailored bi-molecular chemical reactions (literally, two molecules). Publications alternate between attempting to explain the process by which images of traditional insulators are obtained and simply presenting the end images themselves as stunning views of atoms and molecules. While imaging mechanisms are still being debated, these instruments' ability to “see” single molecules has been established, albeit at the fringes of our expectations. For example, whereas STM studies at present might not be able to answer the question of why adsorption of CO doubles the density of platinum atoms on the surface of a single crystal of the metal, the images go far in illustrating that this is a process which platinum undergoes. As with any emerging analytical tool, these scanning, very localized microscopic methods are undergoing the growing pains of irreproducible results and mis-marketed artifacts. Nonetheless, we assemble here, primarily for the uninitiated, a collection of careful and credible studies to mark the progress of scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy into chemistry, and to encourage a healthy blend of idealism and skepticism toward future work.     

Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Ultrafine Particles Prepared in Reverse Micelles

The imaging of ultrafine Au, Pd, CdS, and ZnS particles prepared in reverse micelles has been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Mica substrates, derivatized with a monolayer of amine or thiol-terminated silanes, were used to immobilize the particles. The substrates were exposed to reverse micellar solutions containing the particles and were then immersed in appropriate solvent media to remove surfactants. This resulted in a partial coating of the surfaces by the particles. The particle size was estimated as the height of protrusion, shown on the AFM images. The size values for the Pd and CdS particles, thus obtained, were found to be almost identical to those obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), whereas those for the Au and ZnS particles were larger than those obtained by TEM. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the Au particles tended to aggregate on the surfaces, while Pd particles were isolated from one another. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Savinase action on bovine serum albumin (BSA) monolayers demonstrated with measurements at the air-water interface and liquid Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging

We studied the enzymatic action of Savinase on bovine serum albumin (BSA) organized in a monolayer spread at the air/water interface or adsorbed at the mica surface. We carried out two types of experiments. In the first one we followed the degradation of the protein monolayer by measuring the surface pressure and surface area decrease versus time. In the second approach we applied AFM imaging of the supported BSA monolayers adsorbed on mica solid supports and extracted information for the enzyme action by analyzing the obtained images of the surface topography in the course of enzyme action. In both cases we obtained an estimate for the turnover number (TON) of the enzyme reaction.     

质膜微囊的分离及原子力显微镜研究

采用非去污剂在OptiPrep梯度中漂浮超声处理质膜的方法, 从鼠肺中分离质膜微囊, 在原子力显微镜下以不同条件进行了观察. 该非去污剂法能分离出完整的质膜微囊, 在去离子水稀释500倍的条件下得到了清晰的质膜微囊的原子力显微镜图片, 建立了一种新的快速分离完整质膜微囊的方法和用原子力显微镜观测质膜微囊结构的新方法.     

Atomic Force Microscopy Study of the Adhesion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The influence of the liquid properties and the operating variables on the intrinsic volumetric flow rate, q(0), of the droplets at the liquid-atmosphere interface in nonfoaming adsorptive bubble separation and that, W(f0), of the liquid in foam at the liquid-foam interface in foam separation was studied to estimate the enrichment ratio of surface-active substance in the two techniques. Each intrinsic flow rate was determined by the extrapolation method, which the authors proposed previously, and was mainly influenced by superficial gas velocity, liquid viscosity, and surface tension. Although the changes in the surface tension and the liquid viscosity were small, they greatly affected the intrinsic flow rates for both the droplets and the liquid in foam. The experimental results were applied to a dimensional analysis. Dimensionless volumetric flow rates, q(0)/Q and W(f0)/Q, were successfully correlated with a dimensionless number (Ohnesorge number, Z=&mgr;(L)/(rho(L)sigmad(b))(0.5)). q(0)/Q=6.66 Z(1.46) and W(f0)/Q=2.53Z(0.533) were obtained for the nonfoaming and the foaming regions within errors of 30 and 35%, respectively. The enrichment ratio of surface-active substance in the droplets and the liquid in foam to the bulk liquid was derived by using these correlations for the nonfoaming and the foaming regions, respectively. A good agreement of the experimental enrichment ratio and the calculated ones was obtained by using the correlations for nonfoaming and foaming. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

A Combined Atomic Force Microscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study on a Plastocyanin Mutant Chemisorbed on a Gold Surface

A mutant of copper plastocyanin, covalently bound to an Au (111) surface through an engineered disulfide bridge, was investigated in aqueous medium by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Tapping‐mode AFM images revealed adsorption of single molecules which are homogeneously distributed over the substrate and strongly bound to gold and display uniform lateral size. A statistical analysis of the height of the macromolecules on the gold substrate evidenced a distribution around a mean value consistent with that expected from the crystallographic data and with a relatively large standard deviation. A 10‐ns classical MD simulation of mutated plastocyanin, hydrated by a layer of water, covalently bound to a gold surface by one or two sulfur atoms, was performed. The simulations indicate that the bound protein retains, in both cases, its overall tertiary structure during the dynamic evolution. Moreover, the macromolecule can assume different orientations with respect to the gold substrate, which give rise to a distribution of heights on the gold substrate. Experimental and MD simulation results are compared and discussed in connection with the topological and dynamical properties of the protein system.