Enhanced feedback performance in off-resonance AFM modes through pulse train sampling

• Mustafa Kangül,
• Navid Asmari,
• Santiago H. Andany,
• Marcos Penedo and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 134–143, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.13

• the application of this AFM method when gentle and non-damaging imaging is required, for instance on soft biological materials [1]. In order to make the instrument technique suitable for imaging fragile samples, several dynamic modes that rely on the resonance characteristics of the cantilever have

Frequency-dependent nanomechanical profiling for medical diagnosis

• Santiago D. Solares and
• Alexander X. Cartagena-Rivera

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1483–1489, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.122

• chemical characterization of surfaces ranging from semiconductors and metals to polymers and biological materials [1][2][3][4][5]. In particular, a variety of mechanical property measurement methods have been developed, although most of them are restricted to relatively simple physical descriptions, such

• are based on linear viscoelasticity. Since biological materials are known to be highly nonlinear, extension of existing methods into the nonlinear regime is highly encouraged. Additionally, application-specific AFM sensors still remain to be developed, although here also the required technologies are

Effect of sample treatment on the elastic modulus of locust cuticle obtained by nanoindentation

• Chuchu Li,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Hamed Rajabi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 404–410, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.33

• , 1 kPa to 20 GPa [1]. Owing to developments in mechanical testing [2] and imaging techniques [3] and the use of evolutionary algorithms [4], our knowledge about the biomechanics of insect cuticle has been widely broadened recently. However, cuticle remains to be one of the least studied biological

• materials. This is mostly because measuring the mechanical properties of insect cuticle is very challenging in practice. One of these challenges is associated with the rather fast desiccation rate of cuticle, as it loses its water shortly after removal from insect body [5]. Only small changes in the water

Alcohol-perturbed self-assembly of the tobacco mosaic virus coat protein

• Ismael Abu-Baker and
• Amy Szuchmacher Blum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 355–362, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.30

• ; Introduction Bottom-up fabrication of nanomaterials with precise control over the spatial arrangement of components is of great interest in nanotechnology [1][2]. A promising approach to this issue is the use of templates based on self-assembling biological materials, such as nucleic acids and proteins [3][4

Sputtering onto liquids: a critical review

• Anastasiya Sergievskaya,
• Adrien Chauvin and
• Stephanos Konstantinidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 10–53, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.2

• presence of undesired contaminants, such as fragments of biological materials, which require complicated, expensive, and time-consuming purification procedures. Bio-assisted methods can be divided into three categories according to the system used: (i) microorganisms, (ii) biomolecules, and (iii) plant

Recent progress in actuation technologies of micro/nanorobots

• Ke Xu and
• Bing Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 756–765, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.59

• applications and can be used to treat triglyceride-related diseases. In the future, the degradation of other substances could be explored, that is, the removal of thrombi or oil spills. Biological self-actuation Inspired by nature, scientists choose appropriate biological materials as actuators of micro

Imaging of SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells by helium ion microscopy

• Natalie Frese,
• Patrick Schmerer,
• Martin Wortmann,
• Matthias Schürmann,
• Matthias König,
• Michael Westphal,
• Friedemann Weber,
• Holger Sudhoff and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 172–179, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.13

• 1.3 and 2.1 nm. The edge resolution of the images is determined by an interplay between the size of the focused He+ beam and the widening of the beam within the sample material. The obtained values are typical for biological materials [6][7][8][11]. An effect frequently occurring during HIM imaging

A review on the green and sustainable synthesis of silver nanoparticles and one-dimensional silver nanostructures

• Sina Kaabipour and
• Shohreh Hemmati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 102–136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.9

• scientists discovered the reducing ability of biological materials [130]. Green/biological methods provide several advantages over physical and chemical methods. They are eco-friendly unlike chemical methods [45][104], require less energy unlike physical methods [104][214], can be used for mass production

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

• secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) or ionoluminescence with the HIM, also offer the possibility for new and exciting research on biological materials. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of almost all currently published literature which has demonstrated the application of HIM for

• , followed by dehydration and then drying. For non-conductive samples, as is typical of biological materials, established protocols for SEM also involve methods to overcome charging effects, which are, however, not absolutely necessary for HIM owing to the charge compensation. Fixation Fixation is often

• applied as the first step during sample preparation to prevent or limit alterations to biological materials during sample drying. Chemical fixatives such as glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, or a combination of the two (Karnovsky’s solution) cross-link proteins and lipids to physically stabilise samples [60

On the frequency dependence of viscoelastic material characterization with intermittent-contact dynamic atomic force microscopy: avoiding mischaracterization across large frequency ranges

• Enrique A. López-Guerra and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1409–1418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.125

• acquire topographical, mechanical, or electromagnetic properties of surfaces, as well as to induce surface modifications at the micrometer and nanometer scale. Viscoelastic materials, examples of which include many polymers and biological materials, are an important class of systems, the mechanical

• , although it may or may not fully recover its original geometry. Prime examples of such materials include polymers and biological materials [2][14][19][20][21]. The peculiar types of behavior of viscoelastic materials have been recognized by AFM researchers since the early days of dynamic AFM, and various

• synthetic polymer samples and biological materials. For example, we have recently applied it to map the mechanical properties of biofilms and single cells, describing their behavior with respect to time and frequency [14][33]. A similar approach to ours, which also profits from the elastic–viscoelastic

Revisiting semicontinuous silver films as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates

• Malwina Liszewska,
• Bogusław Budner,
• Małgorzata Norek,
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz and
• Piotr Nyga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1048–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.105

• nanoscale regions called “hot spots” [3]. These “hot spots” can be utilized in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) [4], allowing for the detection of trace amounts of chemicals and biological materials, down to the single molecule or cell level [5]. SERS was discovered in the 1970s [6][7][8] and a

Adhesive contact of rough brushes

• Qiang Li and
• Valentin L. Popov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2405–2412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.225

• power-law-graded media In the previous sections, we considered the adhesive contact of brushes that were placed in contact with a homogeneous linear elastic medium. Many biological materials such as skin, bones or bamboo trees are, however, non-homogeneous. This may have a significant impact on the

Nanoscale characterization of the temporary adhesive of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

• Ana S. Viana and
• Romana Santos

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2277–2286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.212

• organisms such as marine flatworms [1], barnacle cyprids [2][3][4], freshwater cnidaria [5] and echinoderms such as sea cucumbers [6] and sea stars [7][8]. This characterization was performed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), a technique that allows high-resolution images of soft biological materials to

High-stress study of bioinspired multifunctional PEDOT:PSS/nanoclay nanocomposites using AFM, SEM and numerical simulation

• Alfredo J. Diaz,
• Hanaul Noh,
• Tobias Meier and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2069–2082, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.207

• properties of typical cantilevers (traditional testing of polymeric or biological materials is performed at a frequency range several orders of magnitude lower [53]). For these reasons, CRFM typically only provides mapping of the relative surface properties, although with high spatial resolution. Given the

Bio-inspired micro-to-nanoporous polymers with tunable stiffness

• Julia Syurik,
• Ruth Schwaiger,
• Prerna Sudera,
• Stephan Weyand,
• Siegbert Johnsen,
• Gabriele Wiegand and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 906–914, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.92

• Background: Inspired by structural hierarchies and the related excellent mechanical properties of biological materials, we created a smoothly graded micro- to nanoporous structure from a thermoplastic polymer. Results: The viscoelastic properties for the different pore sizes were investigated in the glassy

Hybrid nanomaterials: from the laboratory to the market

• Verónica de Zea Bermudez,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Pierre Rabu and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 861–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.87

• to those made by humans. In this context, complexity is one of the keywords: biological materials are often highly complex, highly structured with well-defined hierarchy, with complex chemical compositions, often composed of a combination of organic and inorganic components, and therefore, they often

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

• Stanislav Gorb and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 403–407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.42

• ranging from studies on structure–property relationships of biological materials and surfaces to the development of technical systems inspired by biological studies. In other words, this issue aimed at isolating the different stages of the biomimetic process. On one hand, it reflects the research phases

• of biological materials and surfaces at the micro- and nanoscale. The Thematic Series combines approaches from biology, physics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering and therefore represents an example of modern interdisciplinary science. Due to this latter reason, we hope that the

Biomechanics of selected arborescent and shrubby monocotyledons

• Tom Masselter,
• Tobias Haushahn,
• Samuel Fink and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1602–1619, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.154

• , Young’s modulus and tensile strength of the vascular bundles in Dracaena marginata. These analyses allowed for generating a model for the mechanical interaction of tissues and vascular bundles of the stem in D. marginata as well as filling major “white spots” in property charts for biological materials

Viability and proliferation of endothelial cells upon exposure to GaN nanoparticles

• Tudor Braniste,
• Ion Tiginyanu,
• Tibor Horvath,
• Simion Raevschi,
• Serghei Cebotari,
• Marco Lux,
• Axel Haverich and
• Andres Hilfiker

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1330–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.124

• of premature tissue damage and dispensing of medications. Nature supplies many examples of biomimetic materials in the form of organic/inorganic components such as bone, teeth, and muscle. Based on biological examples, new and innovative biological materials can be designed through self-organization

Functional diversity of resilin in Arthropoda

• Jan Michels,
• Esther Appel and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1241–1259, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.115

• outstanding properties. Keywords: biological materials; biomechanics; composites; elastomeric proteins; functional morphology; Review Resilin – the pliant protein Elastomeric proteins occur in a large range of organisms and biological structures, and the spectrum of their biological functions is very broad

Frog tongue surface microstructures: functional and evolutionary patterns

• Thomas Kleinteich and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 893–903, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.81

• in the spectra of prey items between frog taxa. Keywords: adhesion; amphibians; biological materials; feeding; high-resolution micro-CT; Introduction Frogs (Lissamphibia: Anura) are famous for their adhesive tongues, which allow them to catch elusive prey. While the movements of the tongue during

Hydration of magnesia cubes: a helium ion microscopy study

• Ruth Schwaiger,
• Johannes Schneider,
• Gilles R. Bourret and
• Oliver Diwald

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 302–309, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.28

• images are not directly compromised [16]. In addition to the high SE-yield, helium ion microscopy allows the use of low beam currents for imaging [7]. For biological materials and polymers, HIM is preferable to SEM for high resolution imaging due to the problems related to electron-beam-induced damage

Structural and magnetic properties of iron nanowires and iron nanoparticles fabricated through a reduction reaction

• Marcin Krajewski,
• Wei Syuan Lin,
• Hong Ming Lin,
• Katarzyna Brzozka,
• Sabina Lewinska,
• Natalia Nedelko,
• Anna Slawska-Waniewska,
• Jolanta Borysiuk and
• Dariusz Wasik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1652–1660, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.167

• treatment [3] as well as labelling and separation of biological materials [4]. Besides the biomedical exploitation, iron-based nanostructures can be used in the fields of data storage [5], catalysis [6], energy storage [7] and environmental remediation [8]. However, different properties are required for

Self-assembly of nanostructures and nanomaterials

• Isabelle Berbezier and
• Maurizio De Crescenzi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1397–1398, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.144

• biological materials, soft matter, metals and semiconductors. Self-assembly is a process that builds an ordered structure, brick-by-brick, starting from disordered building blocks, using simple key ingredients. Self-assembly is commonly controlled by certain intrinsic material parameters (e.g., composition

Overview of nanoscale NEXAFS performed with soft X-ray microscopes

• Peter Guttmann and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 595–604, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.61

• ) or hard discs. The Hitchcock team of the McMaster University operates a STXM at an undulator beamline at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), Saskatoon, Canada, for many applications as, e.g., polymer sciences at the carbon K-edge [49], studies on graphene [50] and investigations of biological materials