46 State-of-The-Art System for Single Molecule Force Measurements to Nanoindentation Experiments
JPK Instruments continues to expand its family of high performance research systems with the announcement of the availability of the NanoWizard® 3 NanoScience AFM system. Building relationships with the SPM community and collaborating with users worldwide has enabled JPK to develop powerful and flexible systems. Designing with upgradeability in mind guarantees a safe investment for users and an international team of experienced scientists and developers takes care of their service and support. The resulting NanoWizard®
in liquids and air, integrated with optical microscopy. It provides optimum imaging in air and liquid for single molecules, polymers and nanomaterials. The tip-scanning head equipped with a flexure scanner gives highest flexibility for a large variety of different samples. In particular, large sample size scanning is possible. The expanded flexibility and modularity of design coupled with the widest range of operation modes and accessories from electrochemistry to the tip-assisted optics module makes this the ideal platform for multiple users and applications.
The core of the new system family is HyperDrive™, a SuperResolution AFM imaging technique. With extremely low tip-sample interactions, samples are never damaged. It is available with the NanoWizard®
3 AFM head and the new Vortis™ high bandwidth, low noise control electronics. The system is
extremely stable to drift and has the ability to detect the smallest cantilever deflections enabling some of the most stunning images ever produced in a commercial system.
This digital controller has been built with flexible operation for the user in mind. The NanoWizard® 3 is the only AFM system on the market which is designed for optimal use in liquid and comes with a vapour
barrier, encapsulated piezos and a variety of dedicated liquid cells for applications ranging from single molecule experiments to corrosion in an electrochemical environment. As JPK's CTO, Torsten Jähnke, said: "Everywhere where AFM and optics, AFM in liquid and high quality AFM are needed, JPK is the right partner. We do not do every AFM application but what we do, we do with passion and perfection."NanoWizard® experiments applying JPK's
3 is a truly state-of-the-art designed system providing the broadest possible range of experimental options to the user: from single molecule force measurements to nanoindentation Circle no. 442 3 NanoScience system design provides the highest AFM performance
Micropositioning Chosen For Space Mission
Scientists at the Institute for Gravitational Research, School of Physics and Astronomy, Glasgow University, have selected PI’s M-824 Hexapod, a 6-axis micropositioning system, to construct space flight hardware for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) Pathfinder space mission, a major ESA-NASA initiative.
Dr Christian Killow, a SUPA (Scottish Universities Physics Alliance) Advanced Fellow, explained: “Gravitational waves can pass through matter virtually unaffected, allowing us to see and measure things, for example black holes coalescing, which are hidden to the electromagnetic spectrum. LISA Pathfinder, a precursor to the main LISA mission, is designed to test the technology needed to detect gravitational waves in space for the first time. LISA is a triangular arrangement of three identical spacecraft, each containing freely floating test masses, with a distance of five million kilometres between them. We have developed small, on-board optical bench interferometers which use laser beams to measure the position and angle of the test masses, providing an accurate readout of their location at the picometre (10-12 m) level. In LISA, measuring the relative positions of the test masses will enable gravitational waves passing through the system to be detected.”
“All components of the optical bench must be precision aligned to the sub-micron level, and the system must be sufficiently robust to cope with this testing environment. We selected the M-824 Hexapod because PI supplies quality instruments that we were confident would perform as expected, and we’ve been very happy with our choice.”
Circle no. 443 Led Optimised For Short-Term Intense Illumination
The Optoflash is the newest member of the Cairn OptoLED family. Using their established LED and microscope coupling designs, it is optimised for short-term intense illumination. Under these conditions the temperature of the LED chip fluctuates considerably, affecting its optical efficiency. No amount of external cooling or heatsinking can mitigate this effect, but this is one area where their established optical feedback system really comes into its own, as it controls the instantaneous current levels to maintain a constant optical output during the pulse.
Protection networks built into the LED heads set the maximum transient and steady-state currents according to the safe operating characteristics of each LED, thereby allowing the full performance capabilities of the LED to be safely achieved. Flash durations of 50 microseconds to 100 millseconds can be set via the front panel controls, or indefinitely longer periods can be set manually or via external control.
Circle no. 444
The new atomising nozzles from miniature component specialists Lee Products are designed to generate a 50° cone spray pattern and offer precise, controlled atomisation in the most compact package. They are available in both airless and air-assisted styles with multiple flow ranges and are designed to be installed directly onto a Lee VHS micro-dispense valve for precise flow control using pulse-width modulation (PWM). The airless version nozzles, which generate a 50° hollow cone spray, do not require an external air supply and will atomise with pressures as low as 20 psi (on water). The standard airless atomising nozzles feature an all-stainless steel construction, with 6-40 threads designed to work with the Lee 062 MINSTAC®
fitting system.
The air-assisted versions provide a 50° solid cone spray pattern and utilise an external air source to control the atomisation, allowing lower fluid operating pressures (as low as 5 psi). The pressure of the liquid and the air can be independently controlled to fine-tune the flow rate and nozzle performance. Atomising nozzles with special mounting configurations and PEEK wetted materials are also available as special designs. Lee Products can also supply these as single orifice nozzles for droplet dispensing, and VHS micro- dispensing development kits, which include the valving, nozzles, safety screen, spike/hold driver and tubing for micro-dispensing.
Circle no. 445
Precise Control With Ultra- Compact Atomising Nozzles
Super-Resolution Microscopy in Life Science Research
The University of Marburg is expanding its cooperation with Leica Microsystems: The Institute of Cytobiology is currently one of four institutes in the world to test a microscope with a resolution well below the diffraction limit (nanoscope). “With this new optical nanoscopy called GSDIM (ground state depletion microscopy followed by individual molecule return), resolutions down to 25 nanometers can be achieved. This makes it possible to image sub-cellular structures or protein complexes far beyond the resolving powers of a light microscope,” says cell biologist Professor Dr Ralf Jacob. The new technology, for which Leica Microsystems has been granted an exclusive licence, is being tested until September in the Imaging Core Facility of the special Cell Biology Research Department 593 (SFB 593) in Marburg. True-to-detail imaging of the spatial arrangement of proteins and other biomolecules in cells and observing molecular processes – GSDIM makes this possible for researchers due to resolutions beyond the diffraction limit. The more insight science gains into these basic processes of life, the better it can find the causes of previously incurable diseases and develop suitable therapies. One of the strengths of GSDIM is that it uses conventional fluorescence markers to image proteins or other biomolecules within the cells with sharpness down to a few nanometers. This includes fluorophores that are routinely used in biomedicine.
With GSDIM, the fluorescent molecules in the specimen are almost completely switched off using laser light. However, individual molecules spontaneously return to the fluorescent state, while their neighbors remain non-illuminating. In this way, the signals of individual molecules can be acquired sequentially using a highly sensitive camera system and their spatial position in the specimen can be measured and stored. An extremely high-resolution image can then be created from the position of many thousands of molecules. This enables cell components that are situated very close to one another and cannot be resolved using conventional widefield fluorescence microscopy to be spatially separated and sharply reproduced in an image. With GSDIM technology, Leica Microsystems is extending its lead as an innovative provider of super-resolution light microscopes and nanoscopes. “With this new widefield microscope system we are extending our super-resolution portfolio and allow even more scientists to benefit from our innovative technology and advance their research,” comments Anja Schué from Leica Microsystems. The current test phase of the microscope is important in this context, as optimal testing can only be done by active scientists like the members of the SFB 593, which is sponsored by the German Research Society. “Our research naturally derives great benefit from being able to work with a microscope like this one,” added Professor Jacob.
Circle no. 446
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