Both proteins and polysaccharides are biopolymers present on a bacterial surface that can simultaneously affect bacterial adhesion. To better understand how the combined presence of proteins and polysaccharides might influence bacterial attachment, adhesion forces were examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) between colloids (COOH- or protein-coated) and polymer-coated surfaces (BSA, lysoz...

A selection of recent experimental and theoretical work involving the atomic force microscope is reviewed, with the focus being upon dynamic measurements. Four topics are covered: calibration techniques for the friction force microscope, quantitative measurements of friction and the effect of adhesion, measurement and theory for the deformation and adhesion of viscoelastic particles, and the in...

Transient capture of cells or model microspheres from flow over substrates sparsely coated with adhesive ligands has provided significant insight into the unbinding kinetics of leukocyte:endothelium adhesion complexes under external force. Whenever a cell is stopped by a point attachment, the full hydrodynamic load is applied to the adhesion site within an exceptionally short time-less than the...

AIMS The regulation of vascular diameter by vasoconstrictors and vasodilators requires that vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) be physically coupled to extracellular matrix (ECM) and neighbouring cells in order for a vessel to mechanically function and transfer force. The hypothesis was tested that integrin-mediated adhesion to the ECM is dynamically up-regulated in VSMCs during contractile a...

Geckos make use of approximately a million microscale hairs (setae) that branch off into hundreds of nanoscale spatulae to cling to different smooth and rough surfaces and detach at will. This hierarchical surface construction gives the gecko the adaptability to create a large real area of contact with surfaces. It is known that van der Waals force is the primary mechanism used to adhere to sur...

buccal mucoadhesive films have attracted great attention among mucoadhesive systems due to their ability to adhere and remain on the oral mucosa and to release their drug content gradually. the aim of the current study was to formulate the ziziphus jujuba aqueous extract as buccal bioadhesive film, which continiously releases the drug at sufficient concentration for reducing the frequency of th...

The influence of sliding velocity on the adhesion force in a nanometer-sized contact was investigated with a novel atomic force microscope experimental setup that allows measuring adhesion forces while the probe is sliding at continuous and constant velocities. For hydrophobic surfaces, the adhesion forces (mainly van der Waals forces) remain constant, whereas for hydrophilic surfaces, adhesion...

Proteins are important in bacterial adhesion, but interactions at molecular-scales between proteins and specific functional groups are not well understood. The adhesion forces between four proteins [bovine serum albumin (BSA), protein A, lysozyme, and poly-d-lysine] and COOH, NH2 and OH-functionalized (latex) colloids were examined using colloid probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) as the functi...

We used chemical force microscopy (CFM) to study adhesive forces between surfaces of epoxy resin and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) capable of hydrogen bonding to different extents. The influence of the liquid medium in which the experiments were carried out was also examined systematically. The molecular character of the tip, polymer, and liquid all influenced the adhesion. Complementary mac...

Electrostatic adhesion technology has broad application prospects on wall climbing robots because of its unique characteristics compared with other types of adhesion technologies. A double tracked wall climbing robot based on electrostatic adhesion technology is presented including electrode panel design, mechanical structure design, power supply system design a...