http://experimentationlab.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/AFMImages/butt_AFM.pdf

Force measurements with the atomic force microscope: Technique, interpretation and applications

Biological materials: Structure and mechanical properties

Many mineralizing organisms selectively form either calcite or aragonite, two polymorphs of calcium carbonate with very similar crystalline structures. Understanding how these organisms achieve this control has represented a major challenge in the field of biomineralization. Macromolecules extracted from the aragonitic shell layers of some mollusks induced aragonite formation in vitro when preadsorbed on a substrate of β-chitin and silk fibroin. Macromolecules from calcitic shell layers induced mainly calcite formation under the same conditions. The results suggest that these macromolecules are responsible for the precipitation of either aragonite or calcite in vivo.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/271/5245/67.full.pdf

Control of Aragonite or Calcite Polymorphism by Mollusk Shell Macromolecules

Dimeric and oligomeric surfactants. Behavior at interfaces and in aqueous solution: a review.

http://www.oocities.org/santanuparia/research/pdf/acis-04.pdf

A review on experimental studies of surfactant adsorption at the hydrophilic solid-water interface.

Recent work has shown that conventional surfactants form ordered aggregates of well-defined shape and size at solid−liquid interfaces.1,2 Here we report interfacial aggregate structures as a function of surfactant geometry by using gemini surfactants with varying tail and spacer lengths. On the anionic cleavage plane of mica, aggregates tend to favor a lower curvature than in solution but follow the same general variation with surfactant geometry (i.e., with larger headgroup areas resulting in greater curvature). These morphologies on mica correlate well with those observed in surfactant−silicate mesophases, where electrostatic binding of headgroups also plays a dominant role. In addition, interfacial sphere-to-rod transitions are induced on mica (as in free solution) by binding with a headgroup-specific counterion. In contrast to mica, the hydrophobic cleavage plane of graphite interacts with surfactant tailgroups, giving rise to interfacial aggregates that are surface-controlled and relatively independe...

/pdf/gemini-surfactants-at-solid-liquid-interfaces-control-of-4mdpmv95k0.pdf

Gemini Surfactants at Solid−Liquid Interfaces: Control of Interfacial Aggregate Geometry

The elusive mechanism of the magnetic ‘memory’ of water

Summary We present the first in vivo study of diatoms using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Three chain-forming, benthic freshwater species ‐ Eunotia sudetica, Navicula seminulum and a yet unidentified species ‐ are directly imaged while growing on glass slides. Using the AFM, we imaged the topography of the diatom frustules at the nanometre range scale and we determined the thickness of the organic case enveloping the siliceous skeleton of the cell (10 nm). Imaging proved to be stable for several hours, thereby offering the possibility to study long-term dynamic changes, such as biomineralization or cell movement, as they occur. We also focused on the natural adhesives produced by these unicellular organisms to adhere to other cells or the substratum. Most man-made adhesives fail in wet conditions, owing to chemical modification of the adhesive or its substrate. Diatoms produce adhesives that are extremely strong and robust both in fresh- and in seawater environments. Our phase-imaging and force-pulling experiments reveal the characteristics of these natural adhesives that might be of use in designing man-made analogues that function in wet environments. Engineering stable underwater adhesives currently poses a major technical challenge.

https://hansmalab.physics.ucsb.edu/pdf/306 - gebeschuber, i.c._j.microscopy_2003.pdf

Atomic force microscopy study of living diatoms in ambient conditions

First steps in harnessing the potential of biomineralization as a route to new high-performance composite materialsPaper presented at Sympos. Synergistic Synthesis of Inorganic Materials, March 1996, Schloß Ringberg, Germany.

Dwain E. Morse

Papers

Gemini Surfactants at Solid−Liquid Interfaces: Control of Interfacial Aggregate Geometry

The elusive mechanism of the magnetic ‘memory’ of water

Atomic force microscopy study of living diatoms in ambient conditions

First steps in harnessing the potential of biomineralization as a route to new high-performance composite materialsPaper presented at Sympos. Synergistic Synthesis of Inorganic Materials, March 1996, Schloß Ringberg, Germany.

Effects of Amplitude of the Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation on Aqueous Suspensions and Solutions