原子力显微镜在纳米生物学研究中的应用

Atomic Force Microscopy in Nano-biological Study

原子力显微镜(atomic force microscope,AFM)自从1986年发明以来,作为一种重要的单分子研究工具,在包括细胞粘附、蛋白折叠以及蛋白间的相互作用等生物学过程的研究中得到了广泛应用。本文主要介绍原子力显微镜的原理,着重于研究相互作用时能垒大小的确定,以及常用的单分子表面修饰方法。

Since its invention in 1986,the atomic force microscope（AFM） has emerged as a flexible and powerful tool for exploring a variety of biological processes,including cell adhesion,protein folding,and protein-protein interactions.This review focuses on the application of the AFM to studies of protein-protein interactions.It describes the commonly used methodologies and reviews the theoretical framework used to analyze single-molecule protein-protein unbinding measurements.This review summarizes recent progress in the field and shows that the AFM provides an excellent tool for probing interactions on the cell surface,for understanding the energy landscapes that govern the dynamics of protein interactions,and the common used method of surface modification.