Exploring the complex mechanical properties of xanthan scaffolds by AFM-based force spectroscopy.
The polysaccharide xanthan has been extensively studied owing to its potential application in tissue engineering. In this paper, xanthan scaffold structures were investigated by atomic force microscope (AFM) in liquid, and the mechanical properties of the complex xanthan structures were investigated by using AFM-based force spectroscopy (FS). In this work, three types of structures in the xanthan scaffold were identified based on three types of FS stretching events. The fact that the complex force responses are the combinations of different types of stretching events suggests complicated intermolecular interactions among xanthan fibrils. The results provide crucial information to understand the structures and mechanical properties of the xanthan scaffold.
Institute of Photo-biophysics, School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004 Henan, PR China.
Hao
H
Liang
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Guanghong
G
Zeng
Institute of Photo-biophysics, School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004 Henan, PR China.
Yinli
Y
Li
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Shuai
S
Zhang
Institute of Photo-biophysics, School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004 Henan, PR China.|Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Huiling
H
Zhao
Institute of Photo-biophysics, School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004 Henan, PR China.
Lijun
L
Guo
Institute of Photo-biophysics, School of Physics and Electronics, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004 Henan, PR China.
Bo
B
Liu
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Mingdong
M
Dong
atomic force microscopy (AFM); force spectroscopy (FS); mechanical properties; xanthan scaffold