The adhesion force of Jurkat cells was measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in aqueous solution at pH 7.2 on six metal oxide surfaces, namely, two quartz (alpha-SiO2) crystal faces, amorphous SiO2 glass, rutile (alpha-TiO2), muscovite mica (KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2), and polycrystalline corundum (alpha-Al2O3). We show quantitatively for the first time that the T lymphocyte adhesion force and...

Kidney stones, aggregates of microcrystals, most commonly contain calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) as the primary constituent. The aggregation of COM microcrystals and their attachment to epithelial cells are thought to involve adhesion at COM crystal surfaces, mediated by anionic molecules or urinary macromolecules. Identification of the most important functional group-crystal face adhesive c...

Suction based attachment systems for pick and place handling of fragile objects like glass plates or optical lenses are energy-consuming and noisy and fail at reduced air pressure, which is essential, e.g., in chemical and physical vapor deposition processes. Recently, an alternative approach toward reversible adhesion of sensitive objects based on bioinspired dry adhesive structures has emerge...

This study attempts to address the interpretation of atomic force microscopy (AFM) adhesion force measurements conducted on the heterogeneous rough surface of wood and natural fibre materials. The influences of wood surface roughness, tip geometry and wear on the adhesion force distribution are examined by cyclic measurements conducted on wood surface under dry inert conditions. It was found th...

In living cells, adhesion structures have the astonishing ability to grow and strengthen under force. Despite the rising evidence of the importance of this phenomenon, little is known about the underlying mechanism. Here, we show that force-induced adhesion-strengthening can occur purely because of the thermodynamic response to the elastic deformation of the membrane, even in the absence of the...

Janus nanoparticles represent a unique nanoscale analogue to the conventional surfactant molecules, exhibiting hydrophobic characters on one side and hydrophilic characters on the other. Yet, direct visualization of the asymmetric surface structures of the particles remains a challenge. In this paper, we used a simple technique based on AFM adhesion force measurements to examine the two distinc...

Talin, a force-bearing cytoplasmic adapter essential for integrin-mediated cell adhesion, links the actin cytoskeleton to integrin-based cell-extracellular matrix adhesions at the plasma membrane. Its C-terminal rod domain, which contains 13 helical bundles, plays important roles in mechanosensing during cell adhesion and spreading. However, how the structural stability and transition kinetics ...

Patterns with controllable adhesion on superhydrophobic areas have various biomedical and chemical applications. Electrolyte jet machining technique (EJM), an electrochemical machining method, was firstly exploited in constructing dimples with various profiles on the superhydrophobic Al alloy surface using different processing parameters. Sliding angles of water droplets on those dimples firstl...

We have studied the frictional properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of phenyl-terminated alkanethiols, C6H5(CH2)nSH (n = 13–16) on template-stripped gold. The friction force was measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the magnitude of the adhesion was controlled by immersing the sliding contact in ethanol (giving low adhesion) or dry N2 gas (giving enhanced adhesion relative ...

In this work, TiN/TiCN & PN/TiCN multilayer films were deposited by plasma- assisted chemical vapour deposition (PACVD). Plasma nitriding (PN) and TiN intermediate layer prior to coating leads to appropriate hardness gradient and it can greatly improve the mechanical properties of the coating. The composition, crystalline structure and phase of the films were investigated by X-ray d...