Scanning probe microscopy in material science and biology

Cricenti, A.; Colonna, Stefano; Girasole, M.; Gori, Paola; Ronci, F.; Longo, Giovanni; Dinarelli, Simone; Luce, M.; Rinaldi, M.; Ortenzi, Marco Aldo

doi:10.1088/0022-3727/44/46/464008

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…The samples for the AFM characterization were prepared by the casting method, by manually dropping 5 µL of sample solution onto freshly cleaved mica and then air dried overnight, as previously described [33]. The AFM images were acquired using a home-designed microscope, described in detail elsewhere [65], operating in contact mode, in air, at room temperature and constant 30% relative humidity. The AFM tips chosen were made of silicon nitride (Veeco, New York, NY, USA) with tip of asymmetric pyramidal shape and nominal radius on 10 nm.…”

Section: Mass Spectrometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

One- and Two-Electron Oxidations of β-Amyloid25-35 by Carbonate Radical Anion (CO3•−) and Peroxymonocarbonate (HCO4−): Role of Sulfur in Radical Reactions and Peptide Aggregation

et al. 2020

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The β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. The methionine (Met) residue at position 35 in Aβ C-terminal domain is critical for neurotoxicity, aggregation, and free radical formation initiated by the peptide. The role of Met in modulating toxicological properties of Aβ most likely involves an oxidative event at the sulfur atom. We therefore investigated the one- or two-electron oxidation of the Met residue of Aβ25-35 fragment and the effect of such oxidation on the behavior of the peptide. Bicarbonate promotes two-electron oxidations mediated by hydrogen peroxide after generation of peroxymonocarbonate (HCO4−, PMC). The bicarbonate/carbon dioxide pair stimulates one-electron oxidations mediated by carbonate radical anion (CO3•−). PMC efficiently oxidizes thioether sulfur of the Met residue to sulfoxide. Interestingly, such oxidation hampers the tendency of Aβ to aggregate. Conversely, CO3•− causes the one-electron oxidation of methionine residue to sulfur radical cation (MetS•+). The formation of this transient reactive intermediate during Aβ oxidation may play an important role in the process underlying amyloid neurotoxicity and free radical generation.

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Section: Mass Spectrometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

One- and Two-Electron Oxidations of β-Amyloid25-35 by Carbonate Radical Anion (CO3•−) and Peroxymonocarbonate (HCO4−): Role of Sulfur in Radical Reactions and Peptide Aggregation

et al. 2020

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“…The AFM measurements were performed using a home‐designed microscope, described in detail elsewhere, 24,25 operating under controlled environmental conditions (room temperature and constant 30% relative humidity). The instrument was operated in the weak repulsive regime of constant force with a probe force below 1 nN.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metal‐based micro and nanosized pollutant in marine organisms: What can we learn from a combined atomic force microscopy‐scanning electron microscopy study

Dinarelli

Longo

Cannata

et al. 2020

J of Molecular Recognition

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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a consolidated technique for the study of biological systems, usually ex vivo or in culture, under different experimental conditions. Yet, the diffusion of the technique in the scientific context of histology is still rather slow and limited. In the present work, we demonstrate the potential of AFM, in terms of morphological and nanomechanical imaging, to study the effects of nano‐ and micro‐sized metallic pollutants in living biological systems. As a model, we investigated marine molluscs (Mytilus galloprovincialis) grown in the Adriatic Sea. We characterized histological sections from two organs (gonads and digestive glands) of molluscs collected during several surveys at different growth time and distance from gas extraction platforms. We evaluated the effects of nano‐pollutants mostly on the local tissue structure by combining AFM microscopy with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the AFM images allowed evidencing the presence of nano‐ or micro‐sized structures that exhibit different nanomechanical properties compared to the rest of the tissue. The results demonstrate how coupling AFM and SEM analysis can provide an effective procedure to evaluate the morphological alterations produced by the exposure to exogenous nano‐pollutants in tissue and constitute a promising way to reveal basic mechanisms mediating the cytotoxicity of specific exogenous pollutants ingested by edible organisms.

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“…The FV maps were acquired with two different microscopes, using different setups: a homemade AFM, described in detail elsewhere [ 23 , 24 ], and a commercial AFM (FlexAFM, Nanosurf, Liestal, CH). The homemade AFM works in the “row by row” acquisition modality and, to perform a FV map, requires the collection of a topography image followed by the collection of the series of FCs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

FC_analysis: a tool for investigating atomic force microscopy maps of force curves

2018

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BackgroundThe collection and analysis of Atomic Force Microscopy force curves is a well-established procedure to obtain high-resolution information of non-topographic data from any kind of sample, including biological specimens. In particular, these analyses are commonly employed to study elasticity, stiffness or adhesion properties of the samples. Furthermore, the collection of several force curves over an extended area of the specimens allows reconstructing maps, called force volume maps, of the spatial distribution of the mechanical properties. Coupling these maps with the conventional high-resolution topographic reconstruction of the sample’s surface, provides a deeper insight on the sample composition from the structural and nanomechanical point of view.ResultsIn this paper we present the open source software package FC_analysis that automatically analyses single force curves or entire force volume maps to yield the corresponding elasticity and deformability images. The principal characteristic of the FC_analysis is a large adaptability to the various experimental setups and to different analysis methodologies. For instance, the user can provide custom values for the detector sensitivity, scanner-z sensitivity, cantilever’s elastic constant and map’s acquisition modality and can choose between different analysis methodologies. Furthermore, the software allows the optimization of the fitting parameters and gives direct control on each step of the analysis procedure. Notably, to overcome a limitation common to many other analysis programs, FC_analysis can be applied to a rectangular portion of the image, allowing the analysis of inhomogeneous samples. Finally, the software allows reconstructing a Young’s modulus map at different penetration depths, enabling the use of modern investigation tools such as the force tomography.ConclusionsThe FC_analysis software aims to become a useful tool for the analysis of force curves maps collected using custom or commercial Atomic Force Microscopes, and is especially useful in those cases for which the producer doesn’t release a dedicated software.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12859-018-2265-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Scanning probe microscopy in material science and biology

Cited by 10 publications

References 94 publications

One- and Two-Electron Oxidations of β-Amyloid25-35 by Carbonate Radical Anion (CO3•−) and Peroxymonocarbonate (HCO4−): Role of Sulfur in Radical Reactions and Peptide Aggregation

One- and Two-Electron Oxidations of β-Amyloid25-35 by Carbonate Radical Anion (CO3•−) and Peroxymonocarbonate (HCO4−): Role of Sulfur in Radical Reactions and Peptide Aggregation

Metal‐based micro and nanosized pollutant in marine organisms: What can we learn from a combined atomic force microscopy‐scanning electron microscopy study

FC_analysis: a tool for investigating atomic force microscopy maps of force curves

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