AVS 46th International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Group Wednesday Sessions
       Session BI-WeA

Paper BI-WeA9
Characterization of Antibody-Antigen Interaction Forces With Magnetic Tweezers

Wednesday, October 27, 1999, 4:40 pm, Room 613/614

Session: Biology at the Nanoscale
Presenter: G.U. Lee, Naval Research Laboratory
Authors: S. Metzger, Geocenters
M. Stevens, Naval Research Laboratory
G. Sagvolden, University of Oslo, Norway
C. Yanavich, Nova Research
M. Natesan, GeoCenters
G.U. Lee, Naval Research Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
Living systems have developed the capacity to use molecular interactions to control structure and function. In order to understand the molecular mechanism of these interactions, the force between and within individual molecules has been directly measured using microscopic techniques such as AFM and optical tweezers. We describe a technique for directly measuring intermolecular interactions using magnetic force. This technique allows intermolecular forces to be studied over an extended range of force (10@super-15@ to 10@super-15@ Newton) and time (1 ms to 10 sec). We will demonstrate the principles of this technique by measuring the force and time required to rupture antibody-antigen bonds.