Vibrational Nanospectroscopy of Biosubstrate Surfaces and Molecular Films
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Michael Casford (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Alexander Fellows (Student) |
Publications
Fellows AP
(2021)
Using hybrid atomic force microscopy and infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) to identify chemical components of the hair medulla on the nanoscale.
in Journal of microscopy
Fellows AP
(2022)
Chemically characterizing the cortical cell nano-structure of human hair using atomic force microscopy integrated with infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR).
in International journal of cosmetic science
Fellows AP
(2020)
Spectral Analysis and Deconvolution of the Amide I Band of Proteins Presenting with High-Frequency Noise and Baseline Shifts.
in Applied spectroscopy
Fellows AP
(2022)
Investigating Bénard-Marangoni migration at the air-water interface in the time domain using sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy of palmitic acid monolayers.
in The Journal of chemical physics
Fellows AP
(2020)
Nanoscale Molecular Characterization of Hair Cuticle Cells Using Integrated Atomic Force Microscopy-Infrared Laser Spectroscopy.
in Applied spectroscopy
Goussous SA
(2019)
A time domain study of surfactin penetrating a phospholipid monolayer at the air-water interface investigated using sum frequency generation spectroscopy, infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, and AFM-nano infrared microscopy.
in Biochimica et biophysica acta. Biomembranes
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/R511870/1 | 30/09/2017 | 29/09/2023 | |||
| 2110577 | Studentship | EP/R511870/1 | 30/09/2018 | 29/09/2022 | Alexander Fellows |
| Description | The funding for this work has enabled the study of several different biological substrates with nanoscale surface spectroscopy. Traditionally, spectroscopies that are commonly employed are either bulk techniques (thus not yielding any surface information) or are restricted by the diffraction limit of light - resulting in achievable resolutions only down to the micron scale in the IR region. However, the techniques of AFM-IR, which combines IR spectroscopy with an ultra-sharp tip, and SFG, which achieves pure surface spectra with sensitivity well under a monolayer, have enabled massive advances in chemical investigations of surfaces. In this work, specifically, biological substrates such as hair, red blood cells, and artificial cell membranes, have been probed to elucidate their chemical structure at unprecedented resolutions. The internal structure of hair has been well studied, but the conclusions relating to the chemical structures of the different components have always been indirectly inferred. AFM-IR, however, has allowed us to map the internal components and intrinsically determine chemical differences at a nanometre scale resolution. Similarly, AFM-IR and SFG analysis on the membranes of red blood cells from sickle cell disease patients showed clear links between localised oxidative stress in the membrane and changes to its adhesive properties - a defining issue for vaso occlusion crises. Further development of these methods are ongoing in order to improve the abilities for chemically elucidating biological surfaces. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes of this funding are of particular significance to others in two ways. Firstly, the work done through this funding has further demonstrated the capabilities of AFM-IR and SFG spectroscopies, particularly in the biological fields. This will, therefore, broaden the interest in these techniques to other researchers and will enable them to achieve similarly unprecedented chemical analysis of biological substrates. Furthermore, the individual findings from specific applications of these techniques such as: the chemical structure of hair, the role of oxidative stress in sickle cell disease, as well as the development of these methods for alternative uses will both assist in furthering the research within these areas and be of potential interest in health and cosmetics industries. |
| Sectors | Chemicals Education Healthcare Other |
| Description | Biophysical Society Annual Meeting 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented research at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting 2020 (San Diego, USA) and attended many other presentations and industrial workshops. This drove discussions with researchers from other institutions around the world to progress our ideas forward. There were also useful talks and demonstrations from industrial partners to show their recent developments in instrumentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.biophysics.org/2020meeting#/ |
| Description | EFNS Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented research at the European Forum on Nanoscale IR Spectroscopy in both 2018 (NPL, London, UK) and 2019 (University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL). These events, hosted by Bruker (manufacturer of AFM-IR), brought together many users of the AFM-IR system to discuss several different applications in research, thus diversifying and broadening the impact of this relatively new technique. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | https://www.anasysinstruments.com/efns2018/ |