Biophysics
We use a range of new, high-resolution imaging techniques to study biological systems. These techniques include scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM), stochastically optically reconstructed microscopy (STORM) and combined scanning laser and atomic force microscopy. We study a wide range of biological systems to explore enzyme-substrate interactions, the structure of cell walls and the patterning of light harvesting proteins. This can be seen in Figure 1, where we show an image of a green fluorescent protein patterned into stripes and subsequently imaged using SNOM. Figure 2 shows a STORM Image of new peptidoglycan structures formed in Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria being tagged with Alexa fluor 532 using the antibiotic vancomycin.
 |
|
Fig 1: SNOM image of a green fluorescent protein patterned into stripes. |
Fig 2: STORM Image of new peptidoglycan structures formed in Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria. |
We are also interested in manipulating quantum dots, with our intention to be the control of the dipole-dipole interactions between electronic states. Figure 3 shows a single quantum dot that has been isolated from other nearby dots using atomic force microscopy. This allows us to study the optical properties of single quantum dots and directly configured molecular systems.
Figure 3 above: A single quantum dot that has been isolated its neighbours by atomic force microscopy.
