Extracting a single polyethylene oxide chain from a single crystal by a combination of atomic force microscopy imaging and single-molecule force spectroscopy: toward the investigation of molecular interactions in their condensed states

Kai Liu; Yu Song; Wei Feng; Ningning Liu; Wenke Zhang; Xi Zhang

doi:10.1021/ja108022h

Extracting a single polyethylene oxide chain from a single crystal by a combination of atomic force microscopy imaging and single-molecule force spectroscopy: toward the investigation of molecular interactions in their condensed states

J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Mar 16;133(10):3226-9. doi: 10.1021/ja108022h. Epub 2011 Feb 23.

Authors

Kai Liu¹, Yu Song, Wei Feng, Ningning Liu, Wenke Zhang, Xi Zhang

Affiliation

¹ State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China.

PMID: 21344912
DOI: 10.1021/ja108022h

Abstract

A thiol-labeled single polyethylene oxide chain has been pulled out of its single crystal and the corresponding extraction force obtained quantitatively by a good combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging and AFM-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS). Our study extends the AFM-based SMFS to the investigation of polymer interactions in their condensed states (e.g., in polymer single crystals).