Abstract
A photo-immobilization based process is presented for direct imaging of hierarchical assemblies of biopolymers using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The technique was used to investigate the phase behavior of F-actin aggregates as a function of concentration of the divalent cation . The data provided direct experimental evidence of a coil-on-coil (braided) structure of F-actin bundles formed at high concentrations. At intermediate concentrations, the data showed the first images of the two-dimensional nematic rafts discovered by recent x-ray studies and theoretical treatments.
- Received 23 August 2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.018101
©2007 American Physical Society