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A magnetic drive is an essential component of the lifeScan system which imposes a completely controlled withdrawal of a magnetic tip after each contact. |
Most cantilevers used for imaging biomolecules can be fitted by our production team with samarium cobalt micro-particles. The particles are permanently magnetized and securely bonded for scanning in buffers.
For high resolution studies, cantilevers with force constants k=~0.1 N/m, and lower, plus tip diameters in the 1 to 3 nm range are preferred.
 The cantilever at left has been fitted with embedded samarium cobalt micro-particles. It is a Super Sharp Silicon type from Nanosensors / NanoWorld® AG, with typical dimensions 450x50x2 µm and a force constant, C= 0.11 N/m. The tip is 7 nm in diameter determined from medium resolution DNA images.
Samarium cobalt can be bonded at LifeAFM to other varieties of cantilevers that may have more general use in non-biological studies.
Our samarium cobalt attachment method is proprietary and was developed after a Gaub procedure [Florin, E.L., Moy, V.T, and Gaub, H.E. 1994. Science 264, 415-417].
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