Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Scanning tunnelling microscopy in biotechnology.

P G Arscott¹, V A Bloomfield

¹Department of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota St Paul 55108.

Trends in Biotechnology

|June 1, 1990

Summary

Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) now visualizes biological molecules with atomic detail. This technique monitors the dynamic interactions of nucleic acids, proteins, and viruses in near-native conditions.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Thermodynamics of the hydrophobic effect. I. Coupling of aggregation and pK(a) shifts in solutions of aliphatic amines.

Biophysical chemistry·2001

Same author

Thermodynamics of the hydrophobic effect. II. Calorimetric measurement of enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity of aggregation of alkylamines and long aliphatic chains.

Biophysical chemistry·2001

Same author

Hexamminecobalt(III)-induced condensation of calf thymus DNA: circular dichroism and hydration measurements.

Nucleic acids research·2001

Same author

Mechanism for nucleic acid chaperone activity of HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein revealed by single molecule stretching.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2001

Same author

Entropy and heat capacity of DNA melting from temperature dependence of single molecule stretching.

Biophysical journal·2001

Same author

Effect of pH on the overstretching transition of double-stranded DNA: evidence of force-induced DNA melting.

Biophysical journal·2001

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Molecular Biology
Nanotechnology

Background:

The scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) achieves atomic resolution for conductive materials.
Visualizing biological molecules with similar resolution has been a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the capability of STM for visualizing biological molecules at high resolution.
To investigate the potential of STM for monitoring dynamic molecular interactions.

Main Methods:

Utilizing scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) on biological samples.
Employing techniques to approximate native environments for molecular imaging.

Main Results:

Demonstrated atomic resolution imaging of nucleic acids, proteins, membranes, and viruses.
Provided evidence for monitoring dynamic interactions of these biomolecules.
Confirmed feasibility under near-native environmental conditions.

Conclusions:

STM shows significant promise for high-resolution imaging of diverse biological molecules.
The technique allows for the observation of molecular dynamics in biologically relevant states.
Advancements in STM are expanding its application in molecular biology and nanobiotechnology.

Related Experiment Videos