CME Seminar - TODAY, 11:30am, 1080 PRB (Smith Seminar Room) Gavin King

[Longbrake, Patricia]

Good morning,

Please join us for the CME Seminar at 11:30am today in the Smith Seminar Room.  Our talk will be presented by Gavin King from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Dept. of Physics and Joint with Biochemistry.  The title and abstract are listed below.

Title:  A Precision Force Microscope for Biophysics

Abstract:

Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are major enabling tools underlying scientific discovery at nanometer length scales and are applied across a plurality of fields. These tools - essentially sharp tips affixed to nanoscale robotic arms - have captured the imagination of scientists and the public alike in their ability to image and manipulate individual atoms and molecules. Since their invention nearly 25 years ago, AFMs have proven to be highly versatile tools, capable of studying a wide variety of samples in a equally wide range of conditions. In particular, the AFM's potential to study the structure and structural dynamics of individual proteins in biologically relevant conditions (in fluid at room temperature) has made it an exciting addition to the biophysicist's tool chest.

Historically, the AFM community has focused on developing sharper tips and higher sensitivity force detection schemes as a means for improved instrument performance. Yet, unwanted mechanical drift between an AFM tip and sample remains a critical, largely unaddressed issue that limits tip-sample stability, registration, and the signal-to-noise ratio during imaging. We have developed novel optical stabilization techniques to locally monitor and actively compensate for drift in AFM measurements. In this talk I will present an overview of our results in the context of biological applications. Further, I will present preliminary data applying this instrument towards precision force spectroscopy of membrane proteins. Looking towards the future, an optically stabilized AFM should enable a variety of precision measurements of biological phenomena, such as direct real-time observation of protein conformational fluctuations in physiologically relevant conditions.

Thank you,
Trisch

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