Roos Wouter H
Department of Physics and Astronomy, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Methods Mol Biol. 2011;783:251-64. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-282-3_14.
To broaden our knowledge on virus structure and function, a profound insight into their mechanical properties is required. Nanoindentation measurements with an atomic force microscope (AFM) are increasingly being performed to probe such material properties. This single-particle approach allows for determining the viral spring constant, their Young's modulus, as well as the force and deformation at which failure occurs. The experimental procedures for viral nanoindentation experiments are described here in detail, focusing on surface preparation, AFM imaging and nanoindentation, and the subsequent data analysis of the force-distance curves. Whereas AFM can be operated in air and in liquid, the described methods are for probing single viruses in liquid to enable working in a physiologically relevant environment.
为了拓宽我们对病毒结构和功能的认识，需要深入了解它们的力学性质。越来越多地使用原子力显微镜（AFM）进行纳米压痕测量来探究此类材料性质。这种单颗粒方法能够确定病毒的弹簧常数、杨氏模量以及发生破坏时的力和变形。本文详细描述了病毒纳米压痕实验的实验步骤，重点在于表面制备、AFM成像和纳米压痕，以及随后对力-距离曲线的数据分析。虽然AFM可以在空气和液体中操作，但所描述的方法是用于在液体中探测单个病毒，以便在生理相关环境中开展工作。
