Scanning tunneling and transmission electron microscopy on identical areas of biological specimens

Stemmer, Andreas; Hefti, Arthur F.; Aebi, U.; Engel, Andréas

doi:10.1016/0304-3991(89)90056-9

Cited by 59 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In addition to the lateral and vertical tip forces (37) which can have distorting effects on biological specimens, a number of other tip-surface interactions which produce spatial distortions have been recognized and include the following: tip shape, which acts to broaden convex structures and narrow concave structures (36); tip switching, which produces multiple images (11); tip-absorbed contaminants, which produce false images (16,19,36); capillary condensation of water vapor at ambient pressures, which reduces the height measurement and possibly deforms the surface of the specimen (40); and scanning speed and feedback gain, which may result in electrical interference and structural artifacts (36). Tunneling current in particular is sensitive to the conductive properties of the surface (13,20,27), and consequently, STM height errors from 20 to 70% have been reported (14).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An important control for assessing the quality of topographical detail is to utilize structural landmarks or barrier heights for the positive identification of biomacromolecules in scanned images (15,25). Highly ordered biological surfaces (10,16,27,36,37), such as the paracrystalline proteinaceous structures examined in this study, provide mechanically rigid surfaces that contain useful landmark features for assessing image quality. From our TEM characterization of M. hungatei and its envelope structures, we could assess the quality of our STM and AFM images during scanning.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, the resolution of atomic structure is only routinely achieved with hard crystalline surfaces (1, 7) and organic adsorbates such as smectic liquid crystal monolayers (28,33). Subnanometer resolution of cellular surfaces has been difficult to achieve because of masking of atomic structure through the use of heavy metal contrasting agents and problems associated with the stabilization of the specimen during STM and AFM imaging (3,14,25,37,39).M. hungatei GP1 is a methanogenic archaeobacterium which possesses several unique paracrystalline envelope structures (42).…”

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Transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and atomic force microscopy of the cell envelope layers of the archaeobacterium Methanospirillum hungatei GP1

et al. 1993

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Methanospirllum hungatei GP1 possesses paracrystalline cell envelope components including end plugs and a sheath formed from stacked hoops. Both negative-stain transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) distinguished the 2.8-nm repeat on the outer surface of the sheath, while negative-stain TEM alone demonstrated this repeat around the outer circumference of individual hoops. Thin sections revealed a wave-like outer sheath surface, while STM showed the presence of deep grooves that precisely defined the hoop-to-hoop boundaries at the waveform nodes. Atomic force microscopy of sheath tubes containing entrapped end plugs emphasized the end plug structure, suggesting that the sheath was malleable enough to collapse over the end plugs and deform to mimic the shape of the underlying structure. High-resolution atomic force microscopy has revised the former idea of end plug structure so that we believe each plug consists of at least four discs, each of which is -3.5 nm thick. Pt shadow TEM and STM both demonstrated the 14-nm hexagonal, particulate surface of an end plug, and STM showed the constituent particles to be lobed structures with numerous smaller projections, presumably corresponding to the molecular folding of the particle.All current techniques for ultrahigh resolution of biomolecular structure have inherent drawbacks. For example, not only does transmission electron microscopy (TEM) usually require heavy metal contrasting agents, it also produces high energy loads and high vacuums on the specimen. Only in exceptional cases, such as the purple membrane of Halobacterium spp. (18), have molecular folding data been obtained. The inception of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) (7) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) (6) has certainly made the atomic resolution of hard, inanimate surfaces feasible, and there is a good possibility that this same resolution can be approached in biology. STM and AFM are currently being used on a number of biostructures and their constituent biopolymers, but they are still relatively new techniques in structural biology, and submolecular resolution must be interpreted with caution since biomaterials are loosely bonded and easily deformable. Specimens must be chosen with care, and close attention must be paid to the possibility of induced artifacts. It is best to take a multitechnique approach which combines high-resolution methodologies based on different principles; uniformity of high-resolution detail from each ensures accuracy of interpretation. Using this rationale, we have combined TEM, STM, and AFM to study paracrystalline surfaces possessed by the archaeobacterium Methanospirillum hungatei.STM and AFM rely on the raster scanning of a fine-tip probe over a surface, with piezoelectric ceramics to control movement to within subnanometer distances, which forms a topographical three-dimensional image of the specimen. In STM, the vertical tip displacement during scanning is depen-* Corresponding author. dent on the tunneling current between the pen...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and atomic force microscopy of the cell envelope layers of the archaeobacterium Methanospirillum hungatei GP1

et al. 1993

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“…The first STM featured an integrated Michelson interferometer and an optical microscope designed to ensure accurate x-y calibration and positioning of the sample of interest ( Fig. 6A-C, E and F; Stemmer et al, 1989). Later designs combined the STM with a STEM (Fig.…”

Section: Instrumentation and Methods Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking back at a quarter-century of research at the Maurice E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology

Müller

Engel

2012

Journal of Structural Biology

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“…run in the [112] and [112] directions cutting through the 7x7 corner holes at both top and bottom (111) terraces. TEM and later STM studies show that the [112] steps are more stable than the [112] steps. 119 This is probably related to the effects of the DAS stacking faults.…”

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confidence: 99%

Scanning tunneling microscopy and the atomic structure of solid surfaces

Ogletree

Salmerón

1990

Progress in Solid State Chemistry

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Scanning tunneling and transmission electron microscopy on identical areas of biological specimens

Cited by 59 publications

References 31 publications

Transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and atomic force microscopy of the cell envelope layers of the archaeobacterium Methanospirillum hungatei GP1

Transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and atomic force microscopy of the cell envelope layers of the archaeobacterium Methanospirillum hungatei GP1

Looking back at a quarter-century of research at the Maurice E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology

Scanning tunneling microscopy and the atomic structure of solid surfaces

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