Mechanical Properties of Different Peptide Tubes

Contacts:

Casper Hyttel Clausen, DTU Nanotech, 4525-5829 (cahu@nanotech.dtu.dk)

Winnie Svendsen, DTU Nanotech, 4525-5731 (wisv@nanotech.dtu.dk)

http://www.nanotech.dtu.dk/Medarbejdere/Staff/Clausen_Casper_Hyttel.aspx/

Self-organizing biological materials could form the basis of the next revolution within the nano fabrication regime. Many different types of self-organizing materials exist ranging from membrane structures and vesicles to nanotubes. The growth mechanism of these tubes is however not understood yet, and there exist very few ways to control the overall structure of the self-organized structures. Therefore the properties of biological materials are in need to be mapped. In this project we map the physical properties of different peptide tubes using force distance curves (FDC). This method uses an AFM cantilever to probe the mechanical properties by applying a controlled force to the structures. The FDC will be used to estimate Young modulus of different type of self assembled peptide structures.

This project is experimental and you will work with an AFM system in an advanced mode to obtain the data, while data analysing will be done in MATLAB. Further we will go over the theory behind the tip surface interaction.