Imaging apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A method for the high resolution imaging of macromolecules and interactions involving macromolecules, said method comprising placing a molecule under test on a surface, said surface being notionally subdivided into a plurality of individual areas, scanning said surface at high resolution by means of scanning tunnelling and/or atomic force microscope apparatus incorporating a plurality of fine probes each associated with one of said areas, said scanning comprising scanning each of said probes across its individual area, detecting movement of each of said probes in a direction transverse to the surface due to undulations in the surface, and displaying the resultant of said scanning so that the topography of the surface can be ascertained.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for the high resolution imaging of macromolecules and interactions involving macromolecules. The apparatus comprises a surface (10) on which the macromolecule under test is placed and a plurality of fine probes (13). Means (not shown) are provided for scanning each of the probes (13) across a small area of the surface 10 in such a way that the total output from the probes covers the whole surface. Means (not shown) such as a scanning tunnelling and/or atomic force detector are used to monitor the movement of the individual probes in a direction transverse to the surface (10) and display means (not shown) are used to display the transverse movement of the probes, being illustrative of the topography of the surface.
125 Citations
18 Claims
- 1. A method for the high resolution imaging of macromolecules and interactions involving macromolecules, said method comprising placing a molecule under test on a surface, said surface being notionally subdivided into a plurality of individual areas, scanning said surface at high resolution by means of scanning tunnelling and/or atomic force microscope apparatus incorporating a plurality of fine probes each associated with one of said areas, said scanning comprising scanning each of said probes across its individual area, detecting movement of each of said probes in a direction transverse to the surface due to undulations in the surface, and displaying the resultant of said scanning so that the topography of the surface can be ascertained.
- 4. Apparatus for the high resolution imaging of macromolecules and interactions involving macromolecules, said apparatus comprising a surface on which a molecule under test is placed for analysis, said surface being notionally subdivided into a plurality of individual areas, a plurality of fine probes each associated with one of said areas, means for simultaneously moving said probes across the surface in such a way that each probe scans across its associated area, means for monitoring the movement of said probes in a direction transverse to the surface due to undulations in the surface, and display means for displaying the output from said monitoring means being illustrative of the topography of the surface.
Specification