Force Spectroscopy with 9-μs Resolution and Sub-pN Stability by Tailoring AFM Cantilever Geometry.

ABSTRACT: Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is a powerful yet accessible means to characterize the unfolding/refolding dynamics of individual molecules and resolve closely spaced, transiently occupied folding intermediates. On a modern commercial AFM, these applications and others are now limited by the mechanical properties of the cantilever. Specifically, AFM-based SMFS data quality is degraded by a commercial cantilever's limited combination of temporal resolution, force precision, and force stability. Recently, we modified commercial cantilevers with a focused ion beam to optimize their properties for SMFS. Here, we extend this capability by modifying a 40 × 18 μm² cantilever into one terminated with a gold-coated, 4 × 4 μm² refle

SUBMITTER: Edwards DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5770970 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature