Yamakoshi Yoko, Nakazawa Ken, Tsuchiya Toshie
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at Santa Barbara, USA.
Nihon Rinsho. 2007 Feb;65(2):270-7.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used for imaging of non-conductive surface using a cantilever with a sharp probe to mediate the atomic force interaction between the probe and substrate. The application of AFM for the imaging of protein including transmembrane protein has been studied and revealed their single molecular structure on a nanometer scale. Especially for the transmembrane proteins that lack of 3D structural information obtained by X-ray crystallography, AFM imaging has significant advantages. Since the imaging is capable in the aqueous solution, the obtained images are expected to provide information that reflects structures found in the living cells. Additionally, the force curve measurement for intra- or inter-molecular non-covalent interaction such as protein folding or ligand -receptor interaction will be explained.
原子力显微镜（AFM）已被用于对非导电表面进行成像，它使用带有尖锐探针的悬臂来介导探针与底物之间的原子力相互作用。人们已经研究了AFM在蛋白质成像（包括跨膜蛋白成像）中的应用，并揭示了它们在纳米尺度上的单分子结构。特别是对于缺乏通过X射线晶体学获得的三维结构信息的跨膜蛋白，AFM成像具有显著优势。由于该成像能够在水溶液中进行，因此预期所获得的图像能够提供反映活细胞中结构的信息。此外，还将解释用于分子内或分子间非共价相互作用（如蛋白质折叠或配体-受体相互作用）的力曲线测量。
