Bruker AFM webinar: High-Resolution Imaging and Nanomechanical Mapping of Virus Binding Sites to Animal Cells

The Bruker Nano Surfaces Division is running a free webinar on high-resolution imaging and nanomechanical mapping of virus binding sites to animal cells.

Speakers:

Prof. Dr. David Alsteens, head of NanoBioPhysics group at Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium

Dr. Andra Dumitru, postdoctoral fellow in the group of David Alsteens at Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium

Date: March 9, 2017

Time: 2:00am AEST

Currently, there is a growing need for methods that can quantify and map the molecular interactions of biological samples, both with high-force sensitivity and high spatial resolution. Force-distance (FD) curve-based atomic force microscopy is a valuable tool to simultaneously contour the surface and map the biophysical properties of biological samples at the nanoscale.

In this webinar, we will report the use of advanced FD-based technology combined with chemically functionalized tips to probe the localization and interactions of chemical and biological sites on single native proteins and on living cells at high-resolution. We will present how an atomic force and confocal microscopy set-up allows the surface receptor landscape of cells to be imaged and the virus binding events within the first millisecond of contact with the cell to be mapped at high resolution (<50 nm). We will also highlight theoretical approaches to contour the free-energy landscape of early binding events between an engineered virus and cell surface receptors. Owing to its key capabilities (quantitative mapping, resolution of a few nanometers, and true correlation with topography), this novel biochemically sensitive imaging technique is a powerful complement to other advanced AFM modes for quantitative, high-resolution bioimaging.