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. 1995 Oct 24;92(22):10384–10388. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.22.10384

Electrostatic force microscope for probing surface charges in aqueous solutions.

S Xu 1, M F Arnsdorf 1
PMCID: PMC40801  PMID: 7479789

Abstract

A scanning force microscope was converted to an electrostatic force microscope by charging the usually neutral cantilever with phospholipids. The electrostatic force microscope was used to study surface electrostatic charges of samples in aqueous solutions. Lysozymes, DEAE-Sephadex beads, 3-propyltriethoxysilane-treated glass and mica were imaged in water or phosphate buffer with electrostatic force microscopy. The adhesion force measured when a charged probe and oppositely charged specimen interacted was up to 500 times greater than when a bare probe was used. This dramatic increase in measured adhesion force can be attributed to the energy required to break the salt bridges formed between the charged probe and the specimen. The use of phospholipids to functionalize the cantilever tip allows the incorporation of other biomolecules and ligands that can be used as biologically specific tips (e.g., receptors, drugs) for the study of intermolecular interactions.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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