Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an exciting technique for biophysical studies of single molecules, but its usefulness is limited by instrumental drift. We dramatically reduced positional drift by adding two lasers to track and thereby actively stabilize the tip and the surface. These lasers also enabled label-free optical images that were spatially aligned to the tip position. Finally, sub-pN force stability over 100 s was achieved by removing the gold coating from soft cantilevers. These enhancements to AFM instrumentation can immediately benefit research in biophysics and nanoscience.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2014.04.033 | DOI Listing |
Nat Commun
January 2025
Shanghai Key Laboratory MFree, Institute for Shanghai Advanced Research in Physical Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, China.
In recent years, metal hydride research has become one of the driving forces of the high-pressure community, as it is believed to hold the key to superconductivity close to ambient temperature. While numerous novel metal hydride compounds have been reported and extensively investigated for their superconducting properties, little attention has been focused on the atomic and electronic states of hydrogen, the main ingredient in these novel compounds. Here, we present combined H- and La-NMR data on lanthanum superhydrides, LaH, (x = 10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLangmuir
January 2025
Department of Physical Chemistry II, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstrasse 30, Bayreuth 95447, Germany.
Direct force measurements by atomic force microscopy (AFM) have become an indispensable analytical tool in the last decades. Force measurements have been widely used for adhesion measurements, often in combination with the colloidal probe technique. For the latter technique, a colloidal particle is attached to the end of an AFM cantilever, proving great flexibility in terms of colloid/surface interaction to be studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States.
The polycrystalline nature of perovskites, stemming from their facile solution-based fabrication, leads to a high density of grain boundaries (GBs) and point defects. However, the impact of GBs on perovskite performance remains uncertain, with contradictory statements found in the literature. We developed a machine learning force field, sampled GB structures on a nanosecond time scale, and performed nonadiabatic (NA) molecular dynamics simulations of charge carrier trapping and recombination in stoichiometric and doped GBs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrob Pathog
January 2025
College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquatic-Product Processing & Preservation, Shanghai 201306, China; Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Aquatic Product on Storage and Preservation (Shanghai), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai 201306, China; Engineering Research Center of Food Thermal-processing Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China. Electronic address:
Bile salts are crucial microbe-selective inhibitors present in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. Environmental and clinical strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) exhibited different biofilm-forming abilities under bile salt incubation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Mol Graph Model
January 2025
Unit of Excellence in Computational Molecular Science and Catalysis, and Division of Chemistry, School of Science, University of Phayao, Phayao, 56000, Thailand. Electronic address:
Monomer insertion, leading to the formation of an activated monomer complex, is a critical step in cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) of cyclic monomers, such as ε-caprolactone (CL). In this study, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were employed to investigate the structural and electronic properties of four activated complexes at two Zr:B ratios (1:2 and 1:1), where Zr is the cationic zirconocene catalyst, Cp₂ZrMe⁺, and B is the borate cocatalyst, [MeB(CF)] or [B(CF)]. Steric hindrance at the reactive site was analyzed using topographic steric maps, while inter- and intramolecular interactions of the complex systems were examined through the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) and non-covalent interaction (NCI) analyses.
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