Nanomechanical variability in the early evolution of vertebrate dentition.

Conodonts are an extinct group of primitive jawless vertebrates whose elements represent the earliest examples of a mineralized feeding apparatus in vertebrates. Their relative relationship within vertebrates remains unresolved. As teeth, conodont elements are not homologous with the dentition of vertebrates, but they exhibit similarities in mineralization, growth patterns, and function.

Correlating 3D Morphology, Phase State, and Viscoelastic Properties of Individual Substrate-Deposited Particles.

Depending on the source and relative humidity, aerosols can have different compositional, morphological, and viscoelastic properties. Aerosol studies determining the relationship between these properties and their combined effect on the climate and environment are important. This work aims to correlate the 3D morphology, phase state, and viscoelastic properties of selected single-component chemical systems found in sea spray aerosol (SSA) that were substrate-deposited on a solid surface, studied with atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Solid, Semisolid, and Liquid Phase States of Individual Submicrometer Particles Directly Probed Using Atomic Force Microscopy.

Currently, the impact of various phase states of aerosols on the climate is not well understood, especially for submicrometer sized aerosol particles that typically have extended lifetime in the atmosphere. This is largely due to the inherent size limitations present in current experimental techniques that aim to directly assess the phase states of fine aerosol particles. Herein we present a technique that uses atomic force microscopy to probe directly for the phase states of individual, submicrometer particles by using nanoindentation and nano-Wilhelmy methodologies as a function of relative humidity (RH) and ambient temperature conditions.

Direct Surface Tension Measurements of Individual Sub-Micrometer Particles Using Atomic Force Microscopy.

Understanding the role of sea spray aerosol (SSA) on climate and the environment is of great interest due to their high number concentration throughout the Earth's atmosphere. Despite being of fundamental importance, direct surface tension measurements of SSA relevant sub-micrometer particles are rare, largely due to their extremely small volumes. Herein, atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to directly measure the surface tension of individual sub-micrometer SSA particle mimics at ambient temperature and varying relative humidity (RH).