Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Covalent Attachment of Single Molecules for AFM-based Force Spectroscopy
Published on: March 16, 2020
Probing adhesion between nanoscale cellulose fibres using AFM lateral force spectroscopy: The effect of
Grace K Dolan1, Ben Cartwright2, Mauricio R Bonilla1
1Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Abstract:
Inter-fibre adhesion is a key contributing factor to the mechanical response and functionality of cellulose-based biomaterials. 'Dip-and-Drag' lateral force atomic force microscopy technique is used here to evaluate the influence of arabinoxylan and xyloglucan on interactions between nanoscale cellulose fibres within a hydrated network of bacterial cellulose. A cohesive zone model of the detachment event between two nano-fibres is used to interpret the experimental data and evaluate inter-fibre adhesion energy. The presence of xyloglucan or arabinoxylan is found to increase the adhesive energy by a factor of 4.3 and 1.3, respectively, which is consistent with these two hemicellulose polysaccharides having different specificity of hydrogen bonding with cellulose. Importantly, xyloglucan's ability to strengthen adhesion between cellulose nano-fibres supports emergent models of the primary plant cell walls (Park & Cosgrove, 2012b), which suggest that xyloglucan chains confined within cellulose-cellulose junctions play a key role in cell wall's mechanical response.
Related Concept Videos
Hydrogen Bonds
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
Hydrogen Bonds
Adhesion
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow...
IR Spectrum Peak Broadening: Hydrogen Bonding
However, the extent of hydrogen bonding influences the observed stretching frequency and band broadening. Intermolecular or intramolecular...
Valence Bond Theory
Intermolecular Forces

