Frederix Patrick L T M, Bosshart Patrick D, Engel Andreas
M. E. Müller Institute for Structural Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Biophys J. 2009 Jan;96(2):329-38. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2008.09.046.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an ideal method to study the surface topography of biological membranes. It allows membranes that are adsorbed to flat solid supports to be raster-scanned in physiological solutions with an atomically sharp tip. Therefore, AFM is capable of observing biological molecular machines at work. In addition, the tip can be tethered to the end of a single membrane protein, and forces acting on the tip upon its retraction indicate barriers that occur during the process of protein unfolding. Here we discuss the fundamental limitations of AFM determined by the properties of cantilevers, present aspects of sample preparation, and review results achieved on reconstituted and native biological membranes.
原子力显微镜（AFM）是研究生物膜表面形貌的理想方法。它能使吸附在平坦固体支持物上的膜在生理溶液中用原子级尖锐的探针进行光栅扫描。因此，AFM能够观察工作中的生物分子机器。此外，探针可连接到单个膜蛋白的末端，探针回缩时作用于其上的力表明了蛋白质展开过程中出现的屏障。在此，我们讨论由悬臂特性所决定的AFM的基本局限性，介绍样品制备的相关方面，并综述在重组生物膜和天然生物膜上所取得的研究成果。
