ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY MEASUREMENTS OF BOVINE SERUM ALBUMIN ADHESION FORCES ON SURFACES

摘要

A novel, direct technique has been developed to measure the interactions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on surfaces by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in a liquid environment. We have been able to measure adhesion forces between proteins and substrate surfaces in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution directly, without any modification to the substrate and the AFM tip. Two different surfaces have been used in the measurements: mica (hydrophilic surface) and polystyrene (hydrophobic surface). The results show that a polystyrene surface has larger adhesion forces to BSA than a mica surface. This is consistent with previous research, which demonstrated that hydrophobic surfaces enhance protein adhesion but hydrophilic surfaces do not.