Interaction between P-factor, a peptide pheromone composed of 23 amino acid residues, and its pheromone receptor, Mam2, on the cell surface of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was examined by an atomic force microscope (AFM). An AFM tip was modified with P-factor derivatives to perform force curve measurements. The specific interaction force between P-factor and Mam2 was calculated t...

High resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be performed simultaneously with optical microscopy techniques, such as fluorescence or differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. The combined methodologies provide complementary information about the studied sample which establishes the basis for a better understanding of physiological processes and the function of biomolecules, and ...

The wear of atomic force microscope (AFM) tips is a critical issue in the performance of probe-based metrology and nanomanufacturing processes. In this work, diamond-like carbon (DLC) was coated on Si AFM tips using a plasma ion implantation and deposition process. The mechanical integrity of these DLC-coated tips was compared to that of uncoated silicon tips through systematic nanoscale wear t...

We report a new method of achieving tip–sample distance regulation in an atomic force microscope ~AFM!. A piezoelectric quartz tuning fork serves as both actuator and sensor of tip–sample interactions, allowing tip–sample distance regulation without the use of a diode laser or dither piezo. Such a tuning fork has a high spring constant so a dither amplitude of only 0.1 nm may be used to perform...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used extensively in nanoscience research since its invention. Recently, many teaching laboratories in colleges, undergraduate institutions, and even high schools incorporate AFM as an effective teaching tool for nanoscience education. This paper presents an optical beam deflection (OBD) based atomic force microscope, designed specifically for the undergrad...

This paper studies the properties of thermally evaporated 1 μm of aluminium (Al) thin films on polyimide (PI) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates at room temperature with thermal evaporation in a vacuum of about 3 x 10 -5 Torr for use as window materials for solar cells. Effects of substrate types on the structural and electrical characteristics of the films were studied. Sets of ex...

In this paper, we describe a new scanning technique for fast atomic force microscopy. In this method, the sample is scanned in a spiral pattern instead of the well established raster pattern. A spiral scan can be produced by applying single frequency cosine and sine signals with slowly varying amplitudes to the x-axis and y-axis of an atomic force microscope (AFM) scanner respectively. The use ...

In the present study we test a compact disk pickup as the cantilever position sensor in an atomic force microscope ~AFM!. The pickup is placed on top of the optical microscope used for the visual inspection and alignment of the specimen. The AFM is also equipped with its own cantilever movement sensor system. Both the built-in and the new detection devices are simultaneously active for comparis...

In the last two decades, nano manipulation has been recognized as a potential tool of scientific interest especially in nanotechnology and nano-robotics. Contemporary optical microscopy (super resolution) techniques have also reached the nanometer scale resolution to visualize this and hence a combination of super resolution aided nano manipulation ineluctably gives a new perspective to the sce...

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a new useful tool to examine the surface structure of specimens with a higher resolution than the conventional scanning electron microscope. In the present study, we used the AFM to observe the surface of paraformaldehyde-fixed human lymphocytes processed for histochemistry using a biotinylated lectin, wheat germ agglutinin, followed by colloidal gold and si...