Related Experiment Videos
Single molecule force spectroscopy in biology using the atomic force microscope
J Zlatanova1, S M Lindsay, S H Leuba
1Biochip Technology Center, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Bldg. 202-A253, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. jzlatano@duke.poly.edu
Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology
|December 7, 2000
Abstract:
The importance of forces in biology has been recognized for quite a while but only in the past decade have we acquired instrumentation and methodology to directly measure interactive forces at the level of single biological macromolecules and/or their complexes. This review focuses on force measurements performed with the atomic force microscope. A general introduction to the principle of action is followed by review of the types of interactions being studied, describing the main results and discussing the biological implications.