Browsing by Subject "Force spectroscopy"
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Item Open Access Atomic force microscopy: Methods and applications(Elsevier, 2017) Baykara, Mehmet Z.; Schwarz, U. D.; Lindon, J.; Tranter, G. E.; Koppenaal, D.This chapter provides an overview of atomic force microscopy, covering the fundamental aspects of the associated instrumentation and methodology as well as representative results from the literature highlighting a variety of application areas. In particular, atomic-resolution imaging and spectroscopy capabilities are emphasized, in addition to applications in biology, nanotribology and catalysis research. Finally, an outlook on emerging aspects and future prospects of atomic force microscopy is provided.Item Open Access Genetically-tunable mechanical properties of bacterial functional amyloid nanofibers(American Chemical Society, 2017) Abdelwahab, M. T.; Kalyoncu, E.; Onur, T.; Baykara, M. Z.; Seker U.O.S.Bacterial biofilms are highly ordered, complex, dynamic material systems including cells, carbohydrates, and proteins. They are known to be resistant against chemical, physical, and biological disturbances. These superior properties make them promising candidates for next generation biomaterials. Here we investigated the morphological and mechanical properties (in terms of Young’s modulus) of genetically-engineered bacterial amyloid nanofibers of Escherichia coli (E. coli) by imaging and force spectroscopy conducted via atomic force microscopy (AFM). In particular, we tuned the expression and biochemical properties of the major and minor biofilm proteins of E. coli (CsgA and CsgB, respectively). Using appropriate mutants, amyloid nanofibers constituting biofilm backbones are formed with different combinations of CsgA and CsgB, as well as the optional addition of tagging sequences. AFM imaging and force spectroscopy are used to probe the morphology and measure the Young’s moduli of biofilm protein nanofibers as a function of protein composition. The obtained results reveal that genetically-controlled secretion of biofilm protein components may lead to the rational tuning of Young’s moduli of biofilms as promising candidates at the bionano interface.