engleski

Morphological and mechanical characterization of marine diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis

This study highlights the capacity of AFM for investigating surface properties of live diatom cells. The intricate and ornate silicified cell walls of diatoms are one of the most outstanding examples of nanoscale-structured materials in nature. We studied morphological and mechanical properties of Cylindrotheca fusiformis (C.f.), which is believed to be unique because the part of its cell wall is without the shell. The two C.f. strains were studied: CCMP343 and a Northern Adriatic strain. The topology of intact cell in hydrated state was imaged in air using contact mode. Force curves obtained by probing the cell surface of the two morphologically different regions of the cell wall showed no significant difference in elastic modulus. Application of the greater force during repeated scanning to the both regions showed no expected effect of sweeping away organic material. These two findings suggest that organic material and silica are tightly bound as the organo-silica composite forming the entire cell wall of Cylindrotheca fusiformis.

AFM; Cylindrotheca fusiformis

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