Nanomechanics of microtubules.
- Kis A Institute of Physics of Complex Matter, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. andras.kis@epfl.ch
- Kasas S
- Babić B
- Kulik AJ
- Benoît W
- Briggs GA
- Schönenberger C
- Catsicas S
- Forró L
- 2002-12-18
Published in:
- Physical review letters. - 2002
English
We have determined the mechanical anisotropy of a single microtubule by simultaneously measuring the Young's and the shear moduli in vitro. This was achieved by elastically deforming the microtubule deposited on a substrate tailored by electron-beam lithography with a tip of an atomic force microscope. The shear modulus is 2 orders of magnitude lower than the Young's, giving rise to a length-dependent flexural rigidity of microtubules. The temperature dependence of the microtubule's bending stiffness in the (5-40) degrees C range shows a strong variation upon cooling coming from the increasing interaction between the protofilaments.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- green
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.248101
- PMID 12484982
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/159873
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