Review on the applications of atomic force microscopy imaging in proteins

Jing Hu; Mingyan Gao; Zuobin Wang; Yujuan Chen

doi:10.1016/j.micron.2022.103293

Review on the applications of atomic force microscopy imaging in proteins

Micron. 2022 Aug:159:103293. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2022.103293. Epub 2022 May 13.

Authors

Jing Hu¹, Mingyan Gao¹, Zuobin Wang², Yujuan Chen³

Affiliations

¹ International Research Centre for Nano Handling and Manufacturing of China, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Cross-Scale Micro and Nano Manufacturing, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China.
² International Research Centre for Nano Handling and Manufacturing of China, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Cross-Scale Micro and Nano Manufacturing, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China; JR3CN & IRAC, University of Bedfordshire, Luton LU1 3JU, UK. Electronic address: wangz@cust.edu.cn.
³ International Research Centre for Nano Handling and Manufacturing of China, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Cross-Scale Micro and Nano Manufacturing, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China; School of Life Sciences, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China. Electronic address: chenyujuan@cust.edu.cn.

PMID: 35636161
DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2022.103293

Abstract

Protein is an important component of human tissues and cells, which is closely related to various life activities. Therefore, studying the conformation of proteins can not only provide better analytic insight into its interactions with biomacromolecules, but also contribute to the biological and medical research. In recent years, the atomic force microscopy with excellent capacity shines brilliantly in obtaining information of biological samples, especially in the research of proteins. Herein, we highlight the advances and main contributions in the understanding of proteins conformation and its interactions with biomacromolecules by atomic force microscopy imaging technology. In addition, we have found that the relevant information of a single investigated object could be directly measured and obtained by atomic force microscopy, which avoids the indirectness and complexity of data analysis. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that this work will be conducive to promoting the development of atomic force microscopy in the research field of protein imaging, and promoting its further applications in immunology, medicine and biology.

Keywords: Atomic force microscopy; Conformation; Imaging; Morphology; Proteins.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Microscopy, Atomic Force / methods
Molecular Conformation
Proteins*

Substances

Proteins