Subsurface Imaging of Soft Polymeric Materials with Nanoscale Resolution

Spitzner, Eike-Christian; Riesch, Christian; Magerle, R.

doi:10.1021/nn1027278

Cited by 60 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The corresponding plots of <B > as a function of the tip-sample distance are shown in the subsection Collagen lawn and Si substrate (see below). On soft polymeric materials and polymer melts, similar tip oscillation parameters (cantilever type, tip radius, free amplitude A0, and amplitude ratio A/A0) lead to indentations of up to 20 nm 44,51,74 , which is much larger than the values observed for hydrated collagen fibrils. Therefore, we conclude that the collagen fibril is still a solid material at 84% RH, which is in line with the results obtained from the FD data.…”

Section: Amplitude-phase-distance Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Unraveling capillary interaction and viscoelastic response in atomic force microscopy of hydrated collagen fibrils

Uhlig

Magerle

2017

Nanoscale

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The mechanical properties of collagen fibrils depend on the amount and the distribution of water molecules within the fibrils. Here, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the effect of hydration on the viscoelastic properties of reconstituted type I collagen fibrils in air with controlled relative humidity. With the same AFM tip, we investigate the same area of a collagen fibril with two different force spectroscopy methods: force-distance (FD) and amplitude-phase-distance (APD) measurements. This allows us to separate the contributions of the fibril's viscoelastic response and the capillary force to the tip-sample interaction. A water bridge forms between the tip apex and the surface, causing an attractive capillary force, which is the main contribution to the energy dissipated from the tip to the specimen in dynamic AFM. The force hysteresis in the FD measurements and the tip indentation of only 2 nm in the APD measurements show that the hydrated collagen fibril is a viscoelastic solid. The mechanical properties of the gap regions and the overlap regions in the fibril's D-band pattern differ only in the top 2 nm but not in the fibril's bulk. We attribute this to the reduced number of intermolecular crosslinks in the reconstituted collagen fibril. The presented methodology allows the mechanical surface properties of hydrated collagenous tissues and biomaterials to be studied with unprecedented detail on the nanometer scale.

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Section: Amplitude-phase-distance Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Unraveling capillary interaction and viscoelastic response in atomic force microscopy of hydrated collagen fibrils

Uhlig

Magerle

2017

Nanoscale

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“…In fact, the evolution of the atomic force microscope (AFM) is being shaped by the need to provide a full and non-invasive characterization of complex interfaces such as solid-liquid interfaces [1][2][3][4] , heterogeneous polymer interfaces [5][6][7] , energy-storage devices 8 , cells [9][10] or protein membranes [11][12][13][14] . Ideally, those methods should complement the high spatial resolution of AFM with the following properties: (1) material characterization independent of the probe properties; (2) quantitative; (3) minimal tip and sample preparation; and (4) compatible with high-speed data acquisition and imaging.…”

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confidence: 99%

Fast nanomechanical spectroscopy of soft matter

2014

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A method that combines high spatial resolution, quantitative and non-destructive mapping of surfaces and interfaces is a long standing goal in nanoscale microscopy. The method would facilitate the development of hybrid devices and materials made up of nanostructures of different properties. Here we develop a multifrequency force microscopy method that enables simultaneous mapping of nanomechanical spectra of soft matter surfaces with nanoscale spatial resolution. The properties include the Young's modulus and the viscous or damping coefficients. In addition, it provides the peak force and the indentation. The method does not limit the data acquisition speed nor the spatial resolution of the force microscope. It is noninvasive and minimizes the influence of the tip radius on the measurements. The same tip is used to measure in air heterogeneous interfaces with near four orders of magnitude variations in the elastic modulus, from 1 MPa to 3 GPa.

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“…The method has been extensively applied to discriminate nanoscale heterogeneous structures in a variety of materials. [23][24][25][26] However, the phase shift in AM-AFM is determined by the interplay between the viscoelasticity of the materials and adhesive (Fig. 1(a)) is $13.5 nm.…”

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confidence: 99%