Imaging and Quantifying Chemical and Physical Properties of Native Proteins at Molecular Resolution by Force–Volume AFM†
This work was supported by ELSO, EMBO, KTS, and SNF. We thank C. Bippes, M. Pfreundschuh, and G. Büldt for their support. AFM=atomic force microscopy.
Abstract
Use the force: Force–volume atomic force microscopy (AFM) can image native membrane proteins and quantify and map their chemical and physical properties at molecular resolution (see images). For the light-driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin (BR), the data shows that lipids form a flexible framework embedding a mechanically anisotropic proton pump, and that the BR adopts different structurally stable conformations that are important for proton pumping.





