title: Spatially and temporally synchronized atomic force and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy for imaging and manipulating cells and biomolecules.
abstract: The atomic force microscope is a high-resolution scanning-probe instrument which has become an important tool for cellular and molecular biophysics in recent years but lacks the time resolution and functional specificities offered by fluorescence microscopic techniques. To exploit the advantages of both methods, here we developed a spatially and temporally synchronized total internal reflection fluorescence and atomic force microscope system. The instrument, which we hereby call STIRF-AFM, is a stage-scanning device in which the mechanical and optical axes are coaligned to achieve spatial synchrony. At each point of the scan the sample topography (atomic force microscope) and fluorescence (photon count or intensity) information are simultaneously recorded. The tool was tested and validated on various cellular (monolayer cells in which actin filaments and intermediate filaments were fluorescently labeled) and biomolecular (actin filaments and titin molecules) systems. We demonstrate that with the technique, correlated sample topography and fluorescence images can be recorded, soft biomolecular systems can be mechanically manipulated in a targeted fashion, and the fluorescence of mechanically stretched titin can be followed with high temporal resolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, University of Pécs, Faculty of Medicine, Pécs H-7624, Hungary. miklos.kellermayer.jr@aok.pte.hu
authors.forename: Miklós S Z
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kellermayer
authors.forename: Arpád
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karsai
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kengyel
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kulcsár
authors.forename: Csaba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Niedetzky
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Proksch
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grama
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000818:Animals; D064211:Connectin; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015879:Myosin Subfragments / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009218:Myosins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D064211:Connectin; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D015879:Myosin Subfragments; C577285:TTN protein, human; D011494:Protein Kinases; D009218:Myosins