“Eukaryotic cells show an astounding ability to remodel their shape and cytoskeleton and to migrate through pores and constrictions smaller than their nuclear diameter… Here, we study the mechanics and dynamics of mesenchymal cancer cell nuclei transitioning through three-dimensional compliant hydrogel channels. “
CP-PNPL-SiO-B and CP-CONT-PS-B colloidal AFM probes are used to assess the mechanical properties of the hydrogel and the cell nuclei.
Tales Rocha de Moura, Elżbieta Purta, Agata Bernat, Eva M Martín-Cuevas, Małgorzata Kurkowska, Eugene F Baulin, Sunandan Mukherjee, Jakub Nowak, Artur P Biela, Michał Rawski, Sebastian Glatt, Fernando Moreno-Herrero and Janusz M Bujnicki
Conserved structures and dynamics in 5′-proximal regions of Betacoronavirus RNA genomes
A study of hyperbolic plasmon polaritons in Molybdenum Oxide Dichloride (MoOCl2) with s-SNOM
“Bad metals may make for poor electrical conductors, but it turns out that they make good quantum materials… Bad metals might not be so bad after all.”
Join us at the American Physical Society @Global Physics Summit 2025, taking place from March 16–21 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. Visit us at Booth 913 to explore our latest innovation: the SelfAdjust-Air AFM Tips, specifically designed for Bruker’s ScanAsyst® mode.
The APS Global Physics Summit is the largest physics research conference globally, uniting over 14,000 members of the scientific community across all physics disciplines. We look forward to connecting with fellow professionals and discussing advancements in AFM technology.
AFM force relaxation and force-distance curves with sQube colloidal AFM probes help study the poroelastic and viscoelastic properties of soft matter.
“The AFM-based methodology described herein provides a solid framework to draw up a complete characterization of the time-dependent mechanical properties of living matter. Due to the structural complexity of cells and tissues, understanding their energy dissipation mechanisms (related to the experimental conditions) is an essential prerequisite toward quantitative determination of their mechanical responses, by analyzing experimental data with the appropriate theoretical models.”
We are proud to announce our brand new SelfAdjust-Air AFM probes.
The SelfAdjust-Air AFM probes are specifically designed for Bruker's ScanAsyst®* mode. The AFM cantilever properties, including the force constant and the Q-factor, optimally support the ScanAsyst®* self-optimization algorithm.
Our colloidal probes with glass microspheres support research on human muscle stem cell encapsulation in hydrogels, helping develop higher efficiency muscle regeneration protocols to treat muscle injury.
Happy World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development 2025!
“Engineering has always had an essential role in development and human welfare. Ensuring that future generations of engineers and scientists will be able to design solutions for local and global challenges is critical.
UNESCO's General Conference proclaimed the 4 March World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development during its 40th session in November 2019 (40 C/64), to raise awareness of the role of engineering in modern life, which is essential to mitigate the impact of climate change and advance sustainable development, especially in Africa and the small island developing states (SIDS).”
In the article “Nanoscale resolved mapping of the dipole emission of hBN color centers with a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope “, Iris Nihues, Daniel Wigger, Korbinian Kaltenecker, Annika Klein-Hitpass , Philippe Roelli, Aleksandra K. Dąbrowska, Katarzyna Ludwiczak, Piotr Tatarczak , Janne O. Becker , Robert Schmidt, Martin Schnell, Johannes Binder, Andrzej Wysmołek and Rainer Hillenbrand utilize a #scatteringtypeNearfieldOpticalMicroscope ( #sSNOM ) to study the #photoluminescence (PL) emission characteristics of such #quantumemitters in metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy grown hBN. *
On the one hand, Iris Niehues et al. demonstrate direct near-field optical excitation and emission through interaction with the #nanofocus of the #AFMtip resulting in a subdiffraction limited tip-enhanced PL hotspot. *
On the other hand, the authors show that indirect excitation and emission via scattering from the AFM tip significantly increases the recorded PL intensity. This demonstrates that the tip-assisted PL (TAPL) process efficiently guides the generated light to the detector.
Iris Niehues et al. apply the TAPL method to map the in-plane dipole orientations of the hBN color centers on the nanoscale. This work promotes the widely available s-SNOM approach to applications in the quantum domain including characterization and optical control.
The investigation utilizes a scattering-type near-field optical microscope employing a metallized Arrow AFM tip ( NanoWorld Arrow-NCPt #AFMprobehttps://www.nanoworld.com/tapping-mode-platinum-coated-afm-tip-arrow-ncpt ) illuminated by monochromatic laser light.
The AFM tip acts as an #opticalantenna, transforming the incident p-polarizedlight into a highly focused near field at the AFM tip apex, the so-called #nanofocus.
The nanofocus interacts with the sample leading to modified scattering from the AFM tip and encoding local sample properties.
In conventional s-SNOM operation, the elastically scattered light is recorded as function of sample position (note that the sample is scanned), yielding near-field optical images with a spatial resolution down to 10 nm.
To supress background scattering, the AFM is operated in tapping mode and the detector signal is demodulated at a higher harmonic of the AFM tip's oscillation frequency.
The family of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials provides a playground for tuning structural and magnetic interactions to create a wide variety of spin textures. *
Of particular interest is the ferromagnetic compound #Fe5GeTe2 that Ajesh K. Gopi et al. show displays a range of complex spin textures as well as complex crystal structures. *
In the article “Thickness-Tunable Zoology of Magnetic Spin Textures Observed in Fe5GeTe2”, using a high-brilliance laboratory X-ray source, Ajesh K. Gopi, Abhay K. Srivastava, Ankit K. Sharma, Anirban Chakraborty, Souvik Das, Hakan Deniz, Arthur Ernst, Binoy K. Hazra, Holger L. Meyerheim and Stuart S.P. Parkin show that the majority (1 × 1) Fe5GeTe2 (FGT5) phase exhibits a structure that was previously considered as being centrosymmetric but rather lacks inversion symmetry. *
In addition, FGT5 exhibits a minority phase that exhibits a long-range ordered (√3 × √3)-R30° superstructure. This superstructure is highly interesting in that it is innately 2D without any lattice periodicity perpendicular to the vdW layers, and furthermore, the superstructure is a result of ordered Te vacancies in one of the topmost layers of the FGT5 sheets rather than being a result of vertical Fe ordering as earlier suggested. *
Ajesh K. Gopi et al. show, from direct real-space magnetic imaging, evidence for three distinct magnetic ground states in lamellae of FGT5 that are stabilized with increasing lamella thickness, namely, a multidomain state, a stripe phase, and an unusual fractal state.*
In the stripe phase the authors also observe unconventional type-I and type-II bubbles where the spin texture in the central region of the bubbles is nonuniform, unlike conventional bubbles.
In addition, they find a #bobber or a cocoon-like spin texture in thick (∼170 μm) FGT5 that emerges from the fractal state in the presence of a magnetic field.
Among all the #2DvdW magnets Ajesh K. Gopi et al. have thus demonstrated that FGT5 hosts perhaps the richest variety of magnetic phases that, thereby, make it a highly interesting platform for the subtle tuning of magnetic interactions.
Durable and conductive interfaces that enable chronic and high-resolution recording of neural activity are essential for understanding and treating #neurodegenerativedisorders. These #chronicimplants require long-term stability and small contact areas. Consequently, they are often coated with a blend of conductive #polymers and are crosslinked to enhance durability despite the potentially deleterious effect of crosslinking on the mechanical and electrical properties.
In the article “Surface-Grafted Biocompatible Polymer Conductors for Stable and Compliant Electrodes for Brain Interfaces” by Rachel Blau, Samantha M. Russman, Yi Qie, Wade Shipley, Allison Lim, Alexander X. Chen, Audithya Nyayachavadi, Louis Ah, Abdulhameed Abdal, Guillermo L. Esparza, Samuel J. Edmunds, Ritwik Vatsyayan, Sean P. Dunfield, Moumita Halder, Jesse V. Jokerst, David P. Fenning, Andrea R. Tao, Shadi A. Dayeh and Darren J. Lipomi (2024) https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/…/adhm.202402215
Describe the grafting of the poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene) scaffold, poly(styrenesulfonate)-b-poly(poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate #blockcopolymerbrush to gold, in a controlled and tunable manner, by surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). This “#blockbrush ” provides high volumetric capacitance (120 F cm─3), strong adhesion to the metal (4 h ultrasonication), improved surface hydrophilicity, and stability against 10 000 charge–discharge voltage sweeps on a multiarray neural electrode. In addition, the block-brush film showed 33% improved stability against current pulsing. This approach can open numerous avenues for exploring specialized polymer brushes for bioelectronics research and application.
The thickness of the brush for the model fitting was found by scraping away an area of brush in air with a MikroMasch HQ:NSC14/Hard/Al BS #AFMtiphttps://www.nanoandmore.com/AFM-Probe-hq-nsc14-hard-al-bs , leaving behind the bare gold substrate, washing, and measuring the height of the neighboring brushes in tapping mode after equilibration in water for 1 h.
In particular, the conditions of the cargo delivery entail tailoring the escape of the molecular payload when the #virusparticle is disassembled. What happens to the internalized molecules when the #nanocage is opened? *
To this end, it is necessary to control the cargo–container interaction which, in turn, would tune the retention of cargo when the disassembly of the #nanocarrier takes place. Thus, it is necessary to develop nanocarrier systems that facilitate the control of the cargo retention conditions as a function of its interaction with the #nanocontainer. *
In the article “Mechanical disassembly of human picobirnavirus like particles indicates that cargo retention is tuned by the RNA–coat protein interaction” María J. Rodríguez-Espinosa, Javier M. Rodríguez, José R. Castón and Pedro J. de Pablo describe how they designed three mutants of human #picobirnavirus where the #RNA–coat protein interaction, observed previously via cryo-electron microscopy, is modified by changing the N-terminal end of the coat protein.
The authors used #atomicforcemicroscopy ( #AFM) for inducing the mechanical unpacking of the #RNA internalized in particles of each mutant. *
Their experiments crack-opened individual particles in real time to monitor the cargo release. Among other results, María J. Rodríguez-Espinosa et al. have measured that an increment in the N-terminal length by just 8% increases the cargo retention of partially disrupted particles by a factor of 10 with respect to the wild type. *
What do geckos and our non-contact AFM probes Tap300Al-G have in common? They both take advantage of van der Waals forces. For a refresher on these weak intermolecular forces, check here:
The ESCRT-III-like protein #Vipp1 couples filament polymerization with #membraneremodeling. It assembles planar sheets as well as 3D rings and helical polymers, all implicated in mitigating plastid-associated membrane stress. The architecture of Vipp1 planar sheets and helical polymers remains unknown, as do the geometric changes required to transition between polymeric forms. *
In the article “Mechanism for Vipp1 spiral formation, ring biogenesis, and membrane repair” Souvik Naskar et al. (2024) show how cyanobacterial Vipp1 assembles into morphologically-related sheets and spirals on #membranes in vitro.*
The spirals converge to form a central ring similar to those described in membrane budding. Cryo-EM structures of helical filaments reveal a close geometric relationship between Vipp1 helical and planar lattices. Moreover, the helical structures reveal how filaments twist—a process required for Vipp1, and likely other #ESCRTIII filaments, to transition between planar and 3D architectures. *
Overall, the authors’ results provide a molecular model for Vipp1 ring biogenesis and a mechanism for Vipp1 #membranestabilization and repair, with implications for other ESCRT-III systems. *
We are happy to announce that all our large-diameter microspheres are now available on the soft, quartz-like AFM cantilevers of the “qp” series by NANOSENSORS™. Check out our catalog to see our expanded product line!