Local Nanomechanical Motion In Single Cells.
Abstract
We present new evidence that the nanoscale motion of the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae exhibits local bionanomechanical motion at characteristic frequencies and which is not caused by random or Brownian processes. This motion is measured with the AFM tip which acts as a nanomechanical sensor, permitting the motion of the cell wall to be recorded as a function of time, applied force, etc. We present persuasive evidence which shows that the local nanomechanical motion is characteristic of metabolic processes taking place inside the cell. This is demonstrated by clear differences between living cells and living cells treated with a metabolic inhibitor. This inhibitor specifically targets cytochrome oxidase inside the mitochondria and inhibits ATP production. The cells observed in this study display characteristic local cell wall motion with amplitudes between 1 and 3 nm and frequencies between 500 and 1700 Hz. The motion is temperature dependant which also suggests the mechanism for the observed motion has biological origins. In addition to a stringent series of control experiments we also discuss local measurements of the cell's mechanical properties and their influence on the observed bionanomechanical motion.
- Publication:
-
APS March Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- March 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004APS..MAR.B8009P