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Atomic Force Microscopy Combined with Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool to Probe Single Bacterium Chemistry

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Nanoscale Visualization of Bacterial Microcompartments Using Atomic Force Microscopy.

Jorge Rodriguez-Ramos¹, Matthew Faulkner¹, Lu-Ning Liu²

¹Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)

|June 30, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein structures that enhance cell metabolism. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can reveal how BMCs self-assemble and their physical properties for nanobioreactor applications.

Keywords:

Atomic force microscopy Bacterial microcompartment Carboxysome Force spectroscopy High-speed AFM Nanoindentation Nanomechanics Self-assembly

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Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Nanotechnology
Microbiology

Background:

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein-based organelles found in prokaryotes.
BMCs play crucial roles in enhancing cellular metabolism.
Their self-assembly and modular nature make them promising for nanobioreactor and scaffolding applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques for studying BMCs.
To detail sample preparation, measurement, and data analysis for AFM.
To investigate BMC self-assembly dynamics and nanomechanics.

Main Methods:

High-speed AFM imaging to observe BMC shell protein assembly dynamics.
Nanoindentation-based spectroscopy to analyze the nanomechanics of intact BMCs.
Detailed protocols for sample preparation and data analysis.

Main Results:

AFM methods successfully determined BMC shell protein assembly dynamics.
Nanoindentation provided insights into the mechanical properties of BMCs.
The study established AFM as a viable technique for BMC research.

Conclusions:

AFM is an effective tool for studying the self-assembly and physical properties of BMCs.
These methods can advance the development of BMC-based nanobioreactors.
The described techniques are applicable to other self-assembling biological structures.