New Paper on Mechanical Property Measurement using PF-QNM

Stephen Minne posted on Wed, May 25 2011 6:22 PM

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See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3589369

Title: Single-step direct measurement of amyloid fibrils stiffness by peak force quantitative nanomechanical atomic force microscopy

Authors: Jozef Adamcik,  Alexandre Berquand,  and Raffaele Mezzenga

Abstract: We present an original application of a new atomic force microscopy mode called peak force tapping for the investigation of the mechanical properties of lactoglobulin amyloid fibrils. The values of Young’s modulus obtained by this technique are in perfect agreement with the indirect evaluation of fibrils stiffness obtained by combining polymer physics and topological statistical analysis on fibrils’ structural conformations. This technique shows great promise in the estimation of the elastic properties of nanostructured objects relevant in biology, soft matter, and nanotechnology.

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I like this paper because it’s about determining the mechanical properties of beta-amyloid fibrils by using Peak Force QNM. The causes underlying Alzheimer’s disease are still not fully understood, however, it is clear that this type of fibrils is involved in the neurodegenerative process. Understanding Alzheimer’s, and other neurodegenerative disorders, is a priority research and funding area. This is the reason why these fibrils are intensively studied, and why understanding their mechanical properties at the nanoscale is important.

PFQNM offers a straightforward approach to extract quantitative information from those fibrils. It’s the first time that such a technique is tested on such a sample. The Young’s modulus found by using PFQNM matches that found by using a more conventional technique. Not only does this correlation provide additional confidence in the baseline measurement, but is also creates confidence in for PF QNM as technique to do nanoscale investigation previously impossible.

Enjoy,
Steve