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Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer

[Image: see text] Adhesion is caused by molecular interactions that only take place if the surfaces are in nanoscale contact (NSC); i.e., the distance between the surfaces is in the range of 0.1–0.4 nm. However, there are several difficulties measuring the NSC between surfaces, mainly because region...

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Autores principales: Simões, Mónica G., Urstöger, Georg, Schennach, Robert, Hirn, Ulrich
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Chemical Society 2021
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8153545/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33856765
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c04226
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author Simões, Mónica G.
Urstöger, Georg
Schennach, Robert
Hirn, Ulrich
author_facet Simões, Mónica G.
Urstöger, Georg
Schennach, Robert
Hirn, Ulrich
author_sort Simões, Mónica G.
collection PubMed
description [Image: see text] Adhesion is caused by molecular interactions that only take place if the surfaces are in nanoscale contact (NSC); i.e., the distance between the surfaces is in the range of 0.1–0.4 nm. However, there are several difficulties measuring the NSC between surfaces, mainly because regions that appear to be in full contact at low magnification may show no NSC when observed at higher magnifications. Thus, the measurement area of NSC is very small with imaging techniques, and an experimental technique to evaluate NSC for large contact areas has not been available thus far. Here, we are proposing Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy/microscopy for this purpose. We demonstrate that NSC in a distance range of 1–10 nm can be evaluated. Our experiments reveal that, for thin films pressed under different loads, NSC increases with the applied pressure, resulting in a higher FRET signal and a corresponding increase in adhesion force/energy when separating the films. Furthermore, we show that local variations in molecular contact can be visualized with FRET microscopy. Thus, we are introducing a spectroscopic technique for quantification (FRET spectroscopy) and imaging (FRET microscopy) of NSC between surfaces, demonstrated here for the application of surface adhesion. This could be of interest for all fields where adhesion or nanoscale surface contact are playing a role, for example, soft matter, biological materials, and polymers, but also engineering applications, like tribology, adhesives, and sealants.
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spelling pubmed-81535452021-05-27 Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Simões, Mónica G. Urstöger, Georg Schennach, Robert Hirn, Ulrich ACS Appl Mater Interfaces [Image: see text] Adhesion is caused by molecular interactions that only take place if the surfaces are in nanoscale contact (NSC); i.e., the distance between the surfaces is in the range of 0.1–0.4 nm. However, there are several difficulties measuring the NSC between surfaces, mainly because regions that appear to be in full contact at low magnification may show no NSC when observed at higher magnifications. Thus, the measurement area of NSC is very small with imaging techniques, and an experimental technique to evaluate NSC for large contact areas has not been available thus far. Here, we are proposing Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy/microscopy for this purpose. We demonstrate that NSC in a distance range of 1–10 nm can be evaluated. Our experiments reveal that, for thin films pressed under different loads, NSC increases with the applied pressure, resulting in a higher FRET signal and a corresponding increase in adhesion force/energy when separating the films. Furthermore, we show that local variations in molecular contact can be visualized with FRET microscopy. Thus, we are introducing a spectroscopic technique for quantification (FRET spectroscopy) and imaging (FRET microscopy) of NSC between surfaces, demonstrated here for the application of surface adhesion. This could be of interest for all fields where adhesion or nanoscale surface contact are playing a role, for example, soft matter, biological materials, and polymers, but also engineering applications, like tribology, adhesives, and sealants. American Chemical Society 2021-04-15 2021-04-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8153545/ /pubmed/33856765 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c04226 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society Permits the broadest form of re-use including for commercial purposes, provided that author attribution and integrity are maintained (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Simões, Mónica G.
Urstöger, Georg
Schennach, Robert
Hirn, Ulrich
Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer
title Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer
title_full Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer
title_fullStr Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer
title_full_unstemmed Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer
title_short Quantification and Imaging of Nanoscale Contact with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer
title_sort quantification and imaging of nanoscale contact with förster resonance energy transfer
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8153545/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33856765
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c04226
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