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Quantifying mechanical forces during vertebrate morphogenesis

Fig. 1 from : Eirini Maniou et al. 2024 “Quantifying mechanical forces during vertebrate morphogenesis”: The i3D bioprinting with accurately determined position, geometry and stiffness. a, Schematic of a chicken embryo illustrating the experimental workflow: 2–3 µl i3D polymer is pipetted directly onto the rhombocervical neuropore (RNP) and photo-crosslinked with a two-photon laser. The iMeSH structures are shown in green throughout. b, Stereoscope image of an embryo with a star shape photo- crosslinked on the flat neural plate. Scale bars, 200 µm. The star dimensions are indicated in the inset. c, Schematic showing iMeSH compression by apposition of the neural folds. d, Time-lapse images showing the sequential displacement of a rigid iMeSH shape, shown as a 3D confocal reconstruction superimposed on the embryo imaged with transmitted light. Cyan shading, open neural tube; *, zippering point; arrow indicates rotation of the printed shape; scale bar, 50 µm. The times are shown. e, Fire lookup table showing the autofluorescence of iMeSH photo-crosslinked with the indicated laser powers on the same embryo. Scale bar, 25 µm. f, Schematic illustration of AFM stiffness testing of an iMeSH shape; 3D reconstructions of the shape are shown superimposed on a dorsal and transverse schematic of the embryo. Scale bar, 100 µm. g, AFM quantification of iMeSH crosslinked on an embryo at the indicated laser powers. The values were calculated from AFM indentations performed at a rate of 0.5 μm s–1 and depths of 1 μm (30% 7-hydroxycoumarin-3-carboxylic acid (HCC) polyethylene glycol (PEG)) or 2 μm (15% PEG). The force–displacement curves were acquired using NANOSENSORS™ PointProbe® Plus PPP-CONTSCR silicon AFM probes with a typical spring constant of 0.2 N/m.

Morphogenesis requires embryonic cells to generate forces and perform mechanical work to shape their tissues. Incorrect functioning of these force fields can lead to congenital… Read More »Quantifying mechanical forces during vertebrate morphogenesis

Happy Swiss National Holiday 2024 with Smallest Swiss Cross

by NANOSENSORS
31 July 202431 July 2024
News & Events

20 bromine atoms positioned on a sodium chloride surface using the tip of an atomic force microscope at room temperature, creating a Swiss cross with the size of 5.6nm. The structure is stable at room temperature and was achieved by exchanging chlorine with bromine atoms. (Fig: University of Basel, Department of Physics) The image was taken using a NANOSENSORS PointProbePlus PPP-NCL AFM probe

We are celebrating tomorrow’s Swiss National Holiday courtesy of Basel University with the Smallest Swiss Cross – Made of 20 Single Atoms ( a NANOSENSORS… Read More »Happy Swiss National Holiday 2024 with Smallest Swiss Cross

The interface between ice and alcohols analyzed by atomic force microscopy

by NANOSENSORS
29 July 202429 July 2024
Science & Technology

Ice plays a crucial role in our environment, with natural ice formations, such as glaciers, permafrost, river ice, and snow, strongly influencing the temperature, humidity,… Read More »The interface between ice and alcohols analyzed by atomic force microscopy

Magnetic control of self-assembly and disassembly in organic materials

Figure 3 from You-jin Jung et al. 2023 “Magnetic control of self-assembly and disassembly in organic materials”: a MNP-helix rod-coils containing positively charged amino acid residues, Rx-α10-PEG16 (x = 1–4). The building blocks have two to five positive charges. b A linear plasmid DNA (7.5 kb). c Self-assembled nanostructures of R1-α10-PEG16. d EMSA on agarose gel. e The PD complexes (intermediates). Left: an AFM image, right: a TEM image. The charge ratio (+/−) was 0.7. f The PD complexes (nanoribbons). g The PD complexes (nanoribbons + artificial chromosomes). h The PD complexes (artificial chromosomes). i The molecular mechanism responsible for the formation of the nanoribbon. Atomic Force Microscopy was preformed in non-contact mode using NANOSENSORS PointProbe Plus PPP-NCHR AFM probes.

Magnetically responsive materials are highly valuable for biological and medical uses because the magnetic field is non-invasive, radiation-free, and safe for humans.* DNA and some… Read More »Magnetic control of self-assembly and disassembly in organic materials

Teaching an old dog new tricks: Ti-doped ZnFe2O4 as active material in zinc ion batteries – a proof of concept

Fig. 5 from “Teaching an old dog new tricks: Ti-doped ZnFe2O4 as active material in zinc ion batteries – a proof of concept” by Susanna Krämer et al. 2024: (a) Work function (Φ) measurements of ZFO, ZFTO7 and ZFTO13 (black squares) and data for the band gap energies (Eg) calculated from the Tauc plot for all samples except ZFTO25 (red circles). Error bars of work function are standard deviation from the average value. (b) Exemplary KPFM image of ZFO with grain boundaries showing lower surface potential (blue) than grain interior (green). Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) measurements were performed in an Ar atmosphere using a commercially available atomic force microscopy with conductive NANOSENSORS PPP-NCSTPt AFM tips. *

ZnFe2O4 is a well-investigated, versatile material with a spinel structure, which reportedly shows electrical conductivity in the range of 5 to 10 mS cm−1, a… Read More »Teaching an old dog new tricks: Ti-doped ZnFe2O4 as active material in zinc ion batteries – a proof of concept

Distinct Contact Guidance Mechanisms in Single Endothelial Cells and in Monolayers

Supplementary Figure 10 from Claire Leclech et al. (2023) “Distinct Contact Guidance Mechanisms in Single Endothelial Cells and in Monolayers”: Characterization of the secreted basement membrane. (C) Surface topography and stiffness (Young’s modulus) obtained by atomic force microscopy of the secreted ECM or bare PDMS after 72 h of culture on flat surfaces coated with fibronectin (FN) or poly-L-lysine (PLL). Dots represent individual measures on n=2 independent experiments. Error bars represent standard deviations. Please follow the link to the full article to find the full supplementary figure 10 and its description. Atomic Force Microscopy measurements were performed using an AFM probe with circular symmetric rounded AFM tip with typical radius of curvature around 30 nm (0.03–0.09 N m−1) (uniqprobe qp-BIOAC-CI, from NANOSENSORS).

In many tissues, cell shape and orientation are controlled by a combination of internal and external biophysical cues. * Cell shape is closely controlled in… Read More »Distinct Contact Guidance Mechanisms in Single Endothelial Cells and in Monolayers

Room-temperature sub-100 nm Néel-type skyrmions in non-stoichiometric van der Waals ferromagnet Fe3-xGaTe2 with ultrafast laser writability

Fig. 4 from Zefang Li et al. (2024) “Room-temperature sub-100 nm Néel-type skyrmions in non-stoichiometric van der Waals ferromagnet Fe3-xGaTe2 with ultrafast laser writability”: Thickness-tunable skyrmions imaged by MFM. a Typical MFM images of RT skyrmions taken at different thicknesses and external magnetic fields. In these images, bright contrast in the images corresponds to spin down, while dark contrast corresponds to spin up relative to the sample normal direction. The inset shows the schematic for the MFM experiment with magnetic field perpendicular to the sample plane. b RT skyrmion diameter dsk versus sample thickness t at zero field. c Comparison for diameter dsk of field-free skyrmions and temperature T for various 2D vdW materials with a thickness around 100 nm, including Cr1+xTe234, Fe3-xGeTe255, Fe5GeTe224, (Fe0.5Co0.5)5GeTe231, and Fe2.84±0.05GaTe2 in this work. Error bars represent the standard error of skyrmion sizes averaged at various temperature. d Thickness and magnetic field dependence of RT skyrmion phase diagram. The color indicates the skyrmion density ρsk. The black dashed line shows the boundary between skyrmion and ferromagnetic phase. The magnetic force microscopy (MFM) measurements were performed with a commercially available Atomic Force Microscope and NANOSENSORSTM low-moment magnetic AFM tips PPP-LM-MFMR. The MFM measurements were carried out in an environment continuously flushed with argon gas to ensure effective protection.

The small size and magnetoelectronic properties of magnetic skyrmions make them promising candidates as data carriers for future high-density and fast-speed data storage, quantum and… Read More »Room-temperature sub-100 nm Néel-type skyrmions in non-stoichiometric van der Waals ferromagnet Fe3-xGaTe2 with ultrafast laser writability