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A Tiny Toolbox

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Stephen W. Carmichael*
Affiliation:
Mayo Clinic

Extract

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A recent article by Matthias Rief, Filipp Oesterhelt. Berthold Heymann, and Hermann Gaub concluded with this sentence: "Single molecule force spectroscopy by AFM has proven to be a powerful addition to the nanoscopic piconewton toolbox," Everything about that conclusion is tiny. Clearly, the atomic force microscope (AFM) has given us a tool to examine structure at or near the atomic level. Earlier work from Gaub's laboratory, reviewed in this column, demonstrated that the AFM could directly measure the binding force between single molecules of biotin and avidin. This established that the AFM could be used as a tool to measure forces, not just observe structure. Their most recent experiments has added to this tiny toolbox.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1997

References

2. Rief, M., Oesterhelt, F., Heymann, B., and Gaub, H.E., Single molecule force spectroscopy on polysacc ha rides by atomic force microscopy, Science 275: 12951297, 1997.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3. Carmichael, S.W., Microscopy Isn't Just For Microscopists, Anymore. Microscopy TodayM-S , 28, 1994.Google Scholar