Atomic Force Microscopy News and Research

RSS

Atomic force microscopy is a type of scanning probe microscopy used to image the surface of a substance, but at an atomic level. It can map the surface structure of different substances to understand how different structures interact with each other. This is done using a cantilever, which is similar to a vinyl record needle.

New squeeze test for screening potential drugs for Alzheimer's

Brain cells exposed to a form of the amyloid beta protein, the molecule linked to Alzheimer's disease, become stiffer and bend less under pressure, researchers at UC Davis have found. The results reveal one mechanism by which the amyloid protein damages the brain, a finding that could lead to new ways to screen drugs for Alzheimer's and similar diseases.

21 Aug 2010

WPI researchers measure molecular forces that enable cranberry juice to fight off urinary tract infections

Revealing the science behind the homespun advice, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has identified and measured the molecular forces that enable cranberry juice to fight off urinary tract infections in people.

16 Jul 2010

Institute of Food Research unveils new emulsifier technique

New work from the Institute of Food Research has shown how sugar beet pectin acts as an efficient emulsifier, using a technique that could be used to unravel in the finest detail how such important food ingredients work.

2 Jul 2010

Pharnext closes €4.8-million Series A funding round

Pharnext SAS, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative treatments based on Pleotherapy™ for severe neurological diseases, today announced that it had closed a €4.8-million Series A round of funding on June 3rd (corresponding to a company valuation of €45 million).

9 Jun 2010

Bruker to supply customized N8 TITANOS large sample AFM to US Commerce Department's NIST

Bruker today announced that it has been awarded a $1.1 million contract to supply a customized N8 TITANOS™ large sample Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to the United States Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The instrument will be used by NIST's Precision Engineering Division (PED) at its Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory, with a main focus on metrology applications which require traceable AFM (T-AFM).

26 Apr 2010

Structure of Amyloid fibers surprises researchers

The Atomic Force Microscope depicts on its screen the few nanometer thick and few micrometer long fibers as white flexible sticks, crisscrossing the surface on which they are deposited. The very peculiar property of these proteins lies in fact that they can self assemble into complex ribbon-like twisted fibers.

19 Apr 2010

Some therapies being investigated for Alzheimer's disease may cause cell death: UCSD

Some current therapies being investigated for Alzheimer's disease may cause further neural degeneration and cell death, according to a breakthrough discovery by UC San Diego researchers. By combining three dimensional computer simulations with high resolution atomic force microscopy membrane protein and cell imaging, electrical recording and various cellular assays, UCSD nano-biophysicist Ratnesh Lal and his colleagues investigated the structure and function of truncated peptides, known as nonamyloidgenic peptides, formed by some Alzheimer's drug candidates.

5 Apr 2010

Etch recipe allows engineers and product developers to design diamond devices

Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT) is making broadly available an etch recipe which enables engineers and product developers to reliably and affordably design micro devices and sensors out of diamond.

4 Feb 2010

TUM biophysicists map changes in energy landscape of zipper-like protein molecule

Biophysicists at TUM, the Technische Universitaet Muenchen, have published the results of single-molecule experiments that bring a higher-resolution tool to the study of protein folding. How proteins arrive at the three-dimensional shapes that determine their essential functions - or cause grave diseases when folding goes wrong - is considered one of the most important and least understood questions in the biological and medical sciences.

20 Jan 2010

ORNL story tips for January 2010

World-class computing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could be unleashed to save as much as $50 billion per year in fraud, waste and abuse in the nation's health care system.

6 Jan 2010

Findings may lead to new methods for diagnosing osteoporosis

Using a technique that provides detailed images of nanoscale structures, researchers at the University of Michigan and Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital have discovered changes in the collagen component of bone that directly relate to bone health.

23 Dec 2009

Veeco Instruments introduces ScanAsyst and PeakForce QNM scan modes

Veeco Instruments Inc., the leading provider of atomic force microscope (AFM) instrumentation to the Research and Industrial communities, announced today the introduction of two patent-pending AFM scan modes, ScanAsyst™ and PeakForce™ QNM™.

2 Dec 2009

I-STEM team succeeds in recreating a whole epidermis from hES cells

Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.

20 Nov 2009

Scientists use advanced technology to find about composite structure of skin

Leeds scientists are using the most sophisticated techniques to tackle a question almost as old as mankind itself - what makes skin feel good, and why?

8 Sep 2009

IBM scientists image the anantomy of a molecule using noncontact atomic force microscopy

IBM scientists have been able to image the "anatomy" -- or chemical structure -- inside a molecule with unprecedented resolution, using a complex technique known as noncontact atomic force microscopy.

28 Aug 2009

Nanotechnology helps scientists measure the forces that hold proteins together

Rice University physicists have written the next chapter in an innovative approach for studying the forces that shape proteins -- the biochemical workhorses of all living things.

6 Aug 2009

Protein unfolding key to understanding blood clot mechanics

Fibrin, the chief ingredient of blood clots, is a remarkably versatile polymer. On one hand, it forms a network of fibers -- a blood clot -- that stems the loss of blood at an injury site while remaining pliable and flexible. On the other hand, fibrin provides a scaffold for thrombi, clots that block blood vessels and cause tissue damage, leading to myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. How does fibrin manage to be so strong and yet so extensible under the stresses of healing and blood flow?

6 Aug 2009

WHO, UNICEF say vitamin A, deworming interventions safe, in response to alleged deaths, sickness in Bangladesh

The WHO and UNICEF on Tuesday said that vitamin A supplements and deworming tablets are safe, after two deaths and the "sickness of hundreds" were alleged among the children who received the interventions during a nationwide campaign in Bangladesh, Bernama.com reports (Bernama.com, 6/9).

9 Jun 2009

Examining the infinitesimal - new approach to microscopy

A new approach to microscopy is opening up the wonders of the molecular world, allowing researchers to examine organic molecules and delicate crystals as they grow, atom by atom. Dr Andrew Humhpris, co-founder of the original technology and now Chief Technology Officer of Infinitesima, explains how this University spin-out has turned into a leading-edge company.

17 Mar 2009

How chemicals present in cranberries prevent urinary tract infections

Chemicals present in cranberries - and not the acidity of cranberry juice, as previously thought - prevent infection-causing bacteria from attaching to the cells that line the urinary tract, as documented in a report published in Journal of Medicinal Food.

10 Mar 2009