Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications

Microscale Characterization of Undecalcified Bone Tissue Using Correlative Atomic Force Microscopy and Histology

This study develops a method combining AFM and histology to analyze undecalcified bone tissue, revealing age-related changes in structure and stiffness in mice.

afMLevel: Deep learning U-Net Models for Levelling Atomic Force Microscopy Images and Movies

This paper introduces two U-Net models for automatically levelling AFM images and movies, outperforming classical methods and reducing manual intervention.

CALISTO: A Standardized and Open-Source Software for Magnetic Tweezer Force Calibration

CALISTO calibrates magnetic tweezers forces using three thermal-motion-based methods, improving accuracy by filtering problematic data.

Force-induced unfolding versus unbinding of a cellulosomal carbohydrate-binding module from cellulose interface

This study investigates how mechanical pulling affects the unbinding of a cellulosomal carbohydrate-binding module from cellulose using simulations and experiments, showing that pulling orientation significantly impacts unfolding and unbinding dynamics.

Simulating Bead-Tethered Biomolecules: Force-Probe Coupled Steered Molecular Dynamics (fp-SMD) in Optical Tweezers Force Spectroscopy

This paper introduces fp-SMD to simulate single-molecule force spectroscopy data by aligning simulation timescales with experiments, revealing force-induced pathway switching in a host-guest complex.

BioAFMviewer AFM Analysis Arena A3 - an interactive software platform for automated analysis of HS-AFM imaging

The paper introduces A3, a software platform for automated analysis of HS-AFM imaging data, enabling high-throughput quantitative analysis of biomolecular dynamics.

Emergent catch bonds from slip-like contacts: cooperative force-driven proofreading at receptor--ligand interfaces

This paper shows that different microscopic mechanisms for receptor-ligand bond behavior can produce equivalent mathematical forms, and introduces a new model to predict catch-slip behavior based on cooperative force-driven proofreading.

Resolving Heterogeneous Mechanical Domains via Physics-Aware Deep Clustering of Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy Data

This paper introduces a physics-aware deep clustering method to identify heterogeneous folding domains in single-molecule force spectroscopy data, revealing distinct mechanical properties in natural proteins.

Multivalent Adhesive Probe Atomic Force Microscopy (MAPA) for accessing dispersive adhesion of cells and biosurfaces.

The paper introduces MAPA, a technique to measure dispersive adhesion of live cells and biosurfaces, revealing differences not captured by viscoelastic methods.

Stoichiometric binding of Cyclophilin-A to the HIV-1 capsid modulates its mechanoelastic properties

This study shows that CypA binding to HIV-1 capsids affects their mechanical properties, with higher stoichiometry increasing brittleness and reducing deformability.

A multimodal, correlative magnetic tweezers-TIRF platform for high-throughput single-molecule interrogations

This paper introduces a multimodal platform combining magnetic tweezers and TIRF for high-throughput single-molecule analysis, enabling real-time, parallel measurements of force, torque, fluorescence, and temperature.

High-speed atomic force-Raman microscopy

This paper introduces high-speed atomic force-Raman microscopy (HS-AFRM) to combine structural and chemical analysis, enhancing the understanding of biomolecular dynamics.

Resolving Orsay Virus δ Protein Architecture Using Molecular Rulers in Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy

This study uses single-molecule force spectroscopy to resolve the multi-domain architecture of Orsay virus δ protein by creating a 2D mechano-structural signature map.

Non-contact direct sensing of material properties of biomolecular condensate using Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy

This study uses Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy to measure the material properties of biomolecular condensates, showing how pH and protein tags affect their stiffness over time.

Single-molecule nanopore-tweezers analysis of transcription elongation by intact and "stalk-less" yeast RNA polymerase II

Nanopore tweezers enable monitoring of RNA polymerase II translocation relative to DNA during transcription elongation with single-nucleotide spatial resolution and millisecond-scale temporal resolution at biologically relevant, saturating substrate concentrations.

Membrane controlled Mechanoregulation in PIEZO1 Interactions

This study compares PIEZO1 behavior in detergent micelles and nanodiscs, showing that native lipid environments influence its mechanical responses and interactions.

Single-Molecule Methods to Investigate Mechanisms of Transcription by RNA Polymerase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Correlative SHG-AFM imaging workflow for label-free quantitative analysis of collagen structure-function relationships

This paper introduces a workflow combining SHG and AFM for label-free collagen analysis in tissue sections, improving specificity and throughput.

Massively Parallel Bead-Free Force Spectroscopy with Fluorescence

This paper introduces Tether Force Spectroscopy (TFS), a bead-free single-molecule force spectroscopy method that enables high-throughput, high-resolution measurements of biomolecular conformational dynamics with internally calibrated forces.

Bayesian Inference of Bond Parameters from Interactions between Single Filaments

The paper uses Bayesian inference to determine bond parameters between vimentin filaments from force trajectories measured with optical tweezers.

Maturation-dependent structural dynamics and nanomechanical properties of dengue virus revealed by high-speed AFM and 3D force mapping

This study uses high-speed AFM and 3D force mapping to analyze the structural dynamics and nanomechanical properties of dengue virus particles across maturation states.

Loop Extrusion Reversal by Condensin Motor is Mediated by Catch Bonds

The paper develops a theory to explain condensin's forward and backward steps during loop extrusion, revealing catch bond-like behavior under mechanical force.

Accurate single-bead force calibration in high-throughput magnetic tweezers reveals the mechanism of directional transcription termination by MTERF1

This paper develops an in-situ force calibration method for magnetic tweezers and uses it to reveal how MTERF1 causes directional transcription termination through DNA unwinding and a kinetic barrier.

STED/AFM as a tool to investigate mechanical and adhesive properties of migrating keratinocytes

This study uses STED/AFM to measure E-cadherin binding and mechanical properties in migrating keratinocytes, showing functional E-cadherin remains available for re-engagement during wound healing.

RNA virus polymerase-helicase coupling enables rapid elongation throughduplex RNA

This study shows that the coronavirus helicase enhances RNA synthesis through duplex RNA by tenfold by forming a directional complex with the polymerase, revealing an active coupling mechanism that modulates replication dynamics.

Bilayer acoustic force spectroscopy (BAFS) for quantifying receptor-antigen binding strength in immune synapses

This paper introduces BAFS, a method to measure receptor-antigen binding strength in immune synapses with high precision and reduced non-specific binding.

Mechanical signatures of nucleic acid knot topology

This study shows that molecular topology in single-stranded DNA leads to distinct mechanical behaviors, providing a way to identify and quantify nucleic acid knots.

Deep Learning-Enhanced TopoStats for the Automated Quantification of DNA and Complex Biomolecular Structures

The paper introduces an enhanced TopoStats tool using deep learning to automate and quantify AFM data, enabling detailed structural analysis of biomolecules.

Engineering the mechanosensitivity of single DNA molecules via high-throughput microfluidic force spectroscopy

This study introduces SM3FS, a high-throughput microfluidic force spectroscopy method to analyze DNA mechanosensitivity, identifying structures that are kinetically stable but mechanically fragile.

PS Poly: A chain tracing algorithm to determine persistence length and categorize complex polymers by shape

PS Poly is an algorithm that automatically determines persistence length and categorizes polymer shapes from single-molecule images.