Project description
Novel mathematical analyses extract the atomic constituents of organic molecules
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a type of high-resolution scanning probe microscopy that creates a 3D topographic image of almost any type of surface by scanning a sharp cantilever tip over it. Non-contact AFM (nc-AFM) is similar but, as its name suggests, does not touch the surface, providing important benefits for biological sample preparations. Over the last couple of decades, it has provided important information about force interactions in biological materials as well as mechanical response measurements and supplied structural information about organic molecules. However, its resolution suffers relative to AFM and it is not possible to identify the individual atoms in a molecule. The EU-funded EIM project is developing spectral analysis algorithms that will enable extracting elemental identities from the signal obtained with nc-AFM. The technique will open the door to detailed atomic-level characterisation of molecules relevant to biotechnology, pharmaceutical development and environmental analyses using nc-AFM.
Objective
Molecular structure determination is vital for biochemistry, life science, and drug industry. A complete determination of the molecular structure requires both the structural skeleton and atoms therein to be identified. Non-contact Atomic Force Microscopy provided a method to image the real-space structural skeleton of planar organic molecule, however, the chemical identities of each atom that comprise the molecule are yet to be determined. In this proposal, I systematically analyze the physical principle for elemental identification in single molecules and propose a practical method to identify each atom using point spectrum with non-contact atomic force microscope.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
02150 Espoo
Finland