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Biomedical subjects

F Besenbacher

Publications and source records attributed to F Besenbacher.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Enhancement of protein adsorption induced by surface roughness.

Using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation and ellipsometry, we show that during adsorption of fibrinogen on evaporated tantalum films the saturation uptake increases with increasing root-mean-square roughness (from 2.0 to 32.9 nm) beyond the accompanying increase in surface area. This increase is attributed to a change in the geometrical arrangement of the fibrinogen molecules on the surface. For comparison, the adsorption of a nearly globular protein, bovine serum albumin, was studied as well. In this case, the adsorption was less influenced by the roughness. Simple Monte Carlo simulations taking into account surface roughness and the anisotropic shape of fibrinogen reproduce the experimentally observed trend.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2006

Bone nanostructure near titanium and porous tantalum implants studied by scanning small angle x-ray scattering.

Bone sections including either titanium or porous tantalum implant devices used for interbody spinal fusion were investigated with position-resolved small angle X-ray scattering (sSAXS). The samples were obtained from six-month-old pigs that had undergone surgery three months prior to sacrifice. The aim of the study was to explore the possibility of using sSAXS to obtain information about thickness, orientation and shape/arrangement of the mineral crystals in bone near the implant surfaces. Detailed sSAXS scans were carried out in two different regions of bone adjacent to the implant in each of the implant samples. In the implant vicinity the mineral crystals tended to be aligned with the surface of the implants. The mean crystal thickness was between 2.1 and 3.0 nm. The mineral crystal thickness increased linearly with distance from the implant in both regions of the porous tantalum implant and in one of the regions in the titanium sample. In the second region of the titanium sample the thickest mineral crystals were found close to the implant surface. The observed differences in mineral thickness with distance from the implant surfaces might be explained by differences in mechanical load induced by the implant material and the geometrical design of the implant. The study shows that sSAXS is a powerful tool to characterize the nanostructure of bone near implant surfaces.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

Clustering of chemisorbed H(D) atoms on the graphite (0001) surface due to preferential sticking.

We present scanning tunneling microscopy experiments and density functional theory calculations which reveal a unique mechanism for the formation of hydrogen adsorbate clusters on graphite surfaces. Our results show that diffusion of hydrogen atoms is largely inactive and that clustering is a consequence of preferential sticking into specific adsorbate structures. These surprising findings are caused by reduced or even vanishing adsorption barriers for hydrogen in the vicinity of already adsorbed H atoms on the surface and point to a possible novel route to interstellar H2 formation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Metastable structures and recombination pathways for atomic hydrogen on the graphite (0001) surface.

We present scanning tunneling microscopy results which reveal the existence of two distinct hydrogen dimer states on graphite basal planes. Density functional theory calculations allow us to identify the atomic structure of these states and to determine their recombination and desorption pathways. Direct recombination is only possible from one of the two dimer states. This results in increased stability of one dimer species and explains the puzzling double peak structure observed in temperature programmed desorption spectra for hydrogen on graphite.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Revisiting the structure of the p(4 x 4) surface oxide on Ag(111).

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density-functional theory are used to reexamine the structure of the renowned p(4 x 4)-O/Ag(111) surface oxide. The accepted structural model [C. I. Carlisle, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 3899 (2000)10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.3899] is incompatible with the enhanced resolution of the current STM measurements. An "Ag6 model" is proposed that is more stable than its predecessor and accounts for the coexistence of the p(4 x 4) and a novel c(3 x 5log3)rect phase. This coexistence is an indication of the dynamic complexity of the system that until now has not been appreciated.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Formation and splitting of paired hydroxyl groups on reduced TiO2(110).

A combination of high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory is utilized to study the interaction of water with the reduced TiO2(110)-(1 x 1) surface. As the direct product of water dissociation in oxygen vacancies, paired hydroxyl groups are formed. These pairs are immobile and stable unless they interact with adsorbed water molecules. As a result of these interactions, protons are transferred to adjacent oxygen rows, thereby forming single hydroxyl groups. Additionally, we show that hydroxyl groups facilitate the diffusion of water molecules over the oxygen rows.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Cell volume increase in murine MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts attaching onto biocompatible tantalum observed by magnetic AC mode atomic force microscopy.

Magnetic AC mode (MACmode) atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study murine (mouse) MC3T3-E1 preosteoblastic cells attached to biocompatible tantalum substrates. Cell volumes of attached cells derived from AFM images were compared to volumes of detached cells in suspension measured by the Coulter sizing technique. An increase of approximately 50% in cell volume was observed when the cells attached to planar tantalum substrates and developed a flattened structure including lamellipodia. We address thoroughly the issues general to the AFM determination of absolute cell volumes, and compare our magnetic AC mode AFM measurements to hitherto reported cell volume determinations by contact mode AFM.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Nanomechanical sensing of DNA sequences using piezoresistive cantilevers.

A microfabricated cantilever with an internal piezoresistive component has been sensitized with thiol tethered ss-DNA strands and utilized for an in situ, label-free, highly specific, and rapid DNA detection assay. The generation of a differential surface stress onto the functionalized cantilever surface upon target recognition has allowed nanomechanical identification of 12-nucleotide complementary DNA probes with single base mismatch discrimination (sensitivity of 0.2 microM). Interestingly, utilization of an overhang extension distal to the surface enhanced the sensitivity to the 0.01 microM level. The cantilever was functionalized by inkjet printing technology. Replacing the capture probe with locked nucleic acid (LNA) resulted in a faster target probe capture kinetics compared to DNA-DNA hybridization. The capabilities of the piezoresistive cantilever indicate future ergonomic convenience via miniaturization alternative to the conventional laser-based detection method for portable on-site applications.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Oxidation of Pt(110).

Using scanning tunneling microscopy and temperature programmed desorption we investigate the Pt(110) surface under strongly oxidizing conditions involving either high-pressure O2 or atomic oxygen exposure. At low temperatures, only disordered Pt oxide structures are observed. After annealing ordered surface oxide islands are observed to coexist with a highly stable reconstructed (12x2)-O chemisorption structure. From density functional theory calculations a model for the surface oxide phase is revealed. The phase is found to be metastable, and its presence is explained in terms of stabilizing defects in the chemisorption layer and reduced Pt mobility.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Growth of unidirectional molecular rows of cysteine on Au(110)-(1 x 2) driven by adsorbate-induced surface rearrangements.

Using scanning tunneling microscopy we have studied the nucleation and growth of unidirectional molecular rows upon adsorption of the amino acid cysteine onto the anisotropic Au(110)-(1 x 2) surface under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. By modeling a large variety of possible molecular adsorption geometries using density-functional theory calculations, we find that in the optimum, lowest energy configuration, no significant intermolecular interactions exist along the growth direction. Instead the driving force for formation of the unidirectional molecular rows is an adsorbate-induced surface rearrangement, providing favorable adsorption sites for the molecules.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Bonding of gold nanoclusters to oxygen vacancies on rutile TiO2(110).

Through an interplay between scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that bridging oxygen vacancies are the active nucleation sites for Au clusters on the rutile TiO2(110) surface. We find that a direct correlation exists between a decrease in density of vacancies and the amount of Au deposited. From the DFT calculations we find that the oxygen vacancy is indeed the strongest Au binding site. We show both experimentally and theoretically that a single oxygen vacancy can bind 3 Au atoms on average. In view of the presented results, a new growth model for the TiO2(110) system involving vacancy-cluster complex diffusion is presented.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Current-voltage curves of atomic-sized transition metal contacts: an explanation of why Au is Ohmic and Pt is not.

We present an experimental study of current-voltage (I-V) curves on atomic-sized Au and Pt contacts formed under cryogenic vacuum (4.2 K). Whereas I-V curves for Au are almost Ohmic, the conductance G=I/V for Pt decreases with increasing voltage, resulting in distinct nonlinear I-V behavior. The experimental results are compared with first principles density functional theory calculations for Au and Pt, and good agreement is found. The difference in conductance properties for Pt vs Au can be explained by the underlying electron valence structure: Pt has an open d shell while Au has not.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Atomic-scale structure of dislocations revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy and molecular dynamics.

The intersection between dislocations and a Ag(111) surface has been studied using an interplay of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and molecular dynamics. Whereas the STM provides atomically resolved information about the surface structure and Burgers vectors of the dislocations, the simulations can be used to determine dislocation structure and orientation in the near-surface region. In a similar way, the subsurface structure of other extended defects can be studied. The simulations show dislocations to reorient the partials in the surface region leading to an increased splitting width at the surface, in agreement with the STM observations. Implications for surface-induced cross slip are discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Organic molecules acting as templates on metal surfaces.

The electronic connection of single molecules to nanoelectrodes on a surface is a basic, unsolved problem in the emerging field of molecular nanoelectronics. By means of variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, we show that an organic molecule (C90H98), known as the Lander, can cause the rearrangement of atoms on a Cu(110) surface. These molecules act as templates accommodating metal atoms at the step edges of the copper substrate, forming metallic nanostructures (0.75 nanometers wide and 1.85 nanometers long) that are adapted to the dimensions of the molecule.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Long jumps in the surface diffusion of large molecules.

We have studied the diffusion of the two organic molecules DC and HtBDC on the Cu(110) surface by scanning tunneling microscopy. Surprisingly, we find that long jumps, spanning multiple lattice spacings, play a dominating role in the diffusion of these molecules--the root-mean-square jump lengths are as large as 3.9 and 6.8 lattice spacings, respectively. The presence of long jumps is revealed by a new and simple method of analysis, which is tested by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Oxygen vacancies as active sites for water dissociation on rutile TiO(2)(110).

Through an interplay between scanning tunneling microscopy experiments and density functional theory calculations, we determine unambiguously the active surface site responsible for the dissociation of water molecules adsorbed on rutile TiO(2)(110). Oxygen vacancies in the surface layer are shown to dissociate H(2)O through the transfer of one proton to a nearby oxygen atom, forming two hydroxyl groups for every vacancy. The amount of water dissociation is limited by the density of oxygen vacancies present on the clean surface exclusively. The dissociation process sets in as soon as molecular water is able to diffuse to the active site.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

One-dimensional metallic edge states in MoS2.

By the use of density functional calculations it is shown that the edges of a two-dimensional slab of insulating MoS2 exhibit several metallic states. These edge states can be viewed as one-dimensional conducting wires, and we show that they can be observed directly using scanning tunneling microscopy for single-layer MoS2 nanoparticles grown on a support.

Journal Article↗