Direct Measurement of Hydrophobic Forces on Cell Surfaces Using AFM

Although hydrophobic forces are of great relevance in biological systems, quantifying these forces on complex biosurfaces such as cell surfaces has been difficult owing to the lack of appropriate, ultrasensitive force probes. Here, chemical force microscopy (CFM) with hydrophobic tips was used to me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Langmuir 2007-11, Vol.23 (24), p.11977-11979
Main Authors: Alsteens, David, Dague, Etienne, Rouxhet, Paul G, Baulard, Alain R, Dufrêne, Yves F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial Adhesion - physiology
Cell Membrane - chemistry
Cell Membrane - metabolism
Cell Membrane - ultrastructure
Chemistry
Colloidal state and disperse state
Exact sciences and technology
General and physical chemistry
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Life Sciences
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Mycobacterium - cytology
Mycobacterium - metabolism
Mycobacterium - ultrastructure
Mycolic Acids - chemistry
Permeability
Surface physical chemistry
Surface Properties
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Summary:Although hydrophobic forces are of great relevance in biological systems, quantifying these forces on complex biosurfaces such as cell surfaces has been difficult owing to the lack of appropriate, ultrasensitive force probes. Here, chemical force microscopy (CFM) with hydrophobic tips was used to measure local hydrophobic forces on organic surfaces and on live bacteria. On organic surfaces, we found an excellent correlation between nanoscale CFM and macroscale wettability measurements, demonstrating the sensitivity of the method toward hydrophobicity and providing novel insight into the nature of hydrophobic forces. Then, we measured hydrophobic forces associated with mycolic acids on the surface of mycobacteria, supporting the notion that these hydrophobic compounds represent an important permeation barrier to drugs.
ISSN:0743-7463
1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/la702765c