Biomedical subjects

A Vinckier

Publications and source records attributed to A Vinckier.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Preparation of basal cell membranes for scanning probe microscopy.

Scanning probe microscopy has the potential for investigating membranes in a physiological environment. We prepared with a lysis-squirting protocol basal cell membranes, that are suitable for scanning probe microscopy. Investigations using atomic force microscopy under liquid revealed cellular filaments which correlated perfectly with fluorescently stained actin filaments. Globular structures with a diameter as little as 10 nm could be resolved by stripping cytoplasmic components from the membranes. Therefore, cytoplasmic sides of supported basal cell membranes prove useful to gain high resolution with scanning probe microscopy in studies of plasma membrane associated structures and processes under buffer solution.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Measuring elasticity of biological materials by atomic force microscopy.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has proved its value not only for resolving the topographical structure of biological samples, but also for probing inherent properties of biological structures, like local interaction forces, mechanical properties or dynamics in a natural (physiological) environment. This minireview focuses on the acquisition of elasticity data of biomaterials by AFM. A possible theoretical model is presented, followed by a practical 'how to do it with AFM', and, finally, a brief overview of publications in this field is given.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Atomic force microscopy detects changes in the interaction forces between GroEL and substrate proteins.

The structure of the Escherichia coli chaperonin GroEL has been investigated by tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) under liquid. High-resolution images can be obtained, which show the up-right position of GroEL adsorbed on mica with the substrate-binding site on top. Because of this orientation, the interaction between GroEL and two substrate proteins, citrate synthase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a destabilizing Gly-->Ala mutation and RTEM beta-lactamase from Escherichia coli with two Cys-->Ala mutations, could be studied by force spectroscopy under different conditions. The results show that the interaction force decreases in the presence of ATP (but not of ATPgammaS) and that the force is smaller for native-like proteins than for the fully denatured ones. It also demonstrates that the interaction energy with GroEL increases with increasing molecular weight. By measuring the interaction force changes between the chaperonin and the two different substrate proteins, we could specifically detect GroEL conformational changes upon nucleotide binding.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1995

Immobilizing and imaging microtubules by atomic force microscopy.

Microtubules isolated from pig brains have been immobilized on an inorganic substrate for use in AFM studies. The method employs 4-aminobutyldimethylmethoxysilane and glutaraldehyde to activate a silicon wafer for binding the biopolymer. The covalent bond ensures the positional stability of the tubules on the substrate, and allows reproducible scanning probe experiments. Microtubules have been imaged both by atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopy, yielding results very similar to electron microscopy. The average apparent height of the tubules is smaller than observed with transmission electron microscopy (25 nm) and is smaller in buffer solution (10 nm) than in air (15 nm). The biopolymer surface is softer under buffer than in air. The highest resolution was obtained with the tapping mode where surface features as small as 10 nm in X and Y have been resolved. Gold-coated tubules bound on silicon have been successfully imaged by STM, while images of uncertain origin were generated for tubules deposited on graphite. It is shown that artefacts imaged on a blank graphite surface can easily be confounded with collapsed tubules.

Animals↗