Biophysics At The Nanoscale

Macroscopic cellular structures and functions are generally investigated using biological and biochemical approaches. But these methods are no longer adequate when one needs to penetrate deep into the small-scale structures and understand their functions. The cell is found to hold various physical structures, molecular machines, and processes that require physical and mathematical approaches to understand and indeed manipulate them. Disorders in general cellular compartments, perturbations in single molecular structures, drug distribution therein, and target specific drug-binding, etc. are mostly physical phenomena. This book will show how biophysics has revolutionized our way of addressing the science and technology of nanoscale structures of cells, and also describes the potential for manipulating the events that occur in them.

Approx.230 pages Approx.230 pages

Atomic Force Microscopy for Nanoscale Biophysics: From Single Molecules to Living Cells summarizes the applications of atomic force microscopy for the investigation of biomolecules and cells. The book discusses the methodology of AFM-based biomedical detection, diverse biological systems, and the combination of AFM with other complementary techniques. These state-of-the-art chapters empower researchers to address biological issues through the application of atomic force microscopy. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a unique, multifunctional tool for investigating the structures and properties of living biological systems under aqueous conditions with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. Summarizes the recent progress of atomic force microscopy in biomedical applications Presents the methods and skills of applying atomic force microscopy Aids researchers in investigating the nanoscale biophysics of diverse biological systems

In this book the recent progress accumulated in studies of the interaction of engineered nanoparticles with cells and cellular constituents is presented. The focus is on manufacturing and characterization of nanosized materials, their interactions with biological molecules such as proteins, the mechanisms of transport across biological membranes as well as their effects on biological functions. Fundamental molecular and cellular aspects are in the foreground of the book. A further particularity is the interdisciplinary approach, including fields such as preparatory and analytical chemistry, biophysics and the physics of colloids, advanced microscopy and spectroscopy for in-situ detection of nanoparticles, cellular toxicology and nanomedicine. Nanoscale particles are known to exhibit novel and unprecedented properties that make them different from their corresponding bulk materials. As our ability to control these properties is further advanced, a huge potential to create materials with novel properties and applications emerges. Although the technological and economic benefits of nanomaterials are indisputable, concerns have also been raised that nanoscale structuring of materials might also induce negative health effects. Unfortunately, such negative health effects cannot be deduced from the known toxicity of the corresponding macroscopic material. As a result, there is a major gap in the knowledge necessary for assessing their risk to human health.

Nanobiophysics is a new branch of science that operates at the interface of physics, biology, chemistry, material science, nanotechnology, and medicine. This book is the first one devoted to nanobiophysics and introduces this field with a focus on some selected topics related to the physics of biomolecular nanosystems, including nucleosomal DNA and model lipid membranes, nanobiohybrids involving DNA/RNA and single-walled carbon nanotubes, biomolecules deposited on nanoparticles, and nanostructured surfaces. It describes unique experimental physical methods that are used to study nanosized biostructures. It outlines the applied aspects of nanobiophysics, considering the state of art in the fabrication of two types of sensors: gas sensors, with a focus on breath gas detection, and nanophotonic sensors, with a focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon detection in water samples. It also covers the development of nanoscale scaffolds for delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids to cells, which is an important example of the possible application of nanobiophysics researches in nanomedicine.

This book presents the structure formation and dynamics of animate and inanimate matter on the nanometre scale. This is a new interdisciplinary field known as Meso-Bio-Nano (MBN) science that lies at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology and material science. Special attention in the book is devoted to investigations of the structure, properties and dynamics of complex MBN systems by means of photonic, electronic, heavy particle and atomic collisions. This includes problems of fusion and fission, fragmentation, surfaces and interfaces, reactivity, nanoscale phase and morphological transitions, irradiation-driven transformations of complex molecular systems, collective electron excitations, radiation damage and biodamage, channeling phenomena and many more. Emphasis in the book is placed on the theoretical and computational physics research advances in these areas and related state-of-the-art experiments. Particular attention in the book is devoted to the utilization of advanced computational techniques and high-performance computing in studies of the dynamics of systems.

This book collects selected lectures from the Third Workshop of the Croucher Advanced Study Institute on Nano Science and Technology, and showcases contributions from world-renowned researchers. The book presents in-depth articles on the latest developments in nanomaterials and nanotechnology, and provides a cross-disciplinary perspective covering physics and biophysics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering.

This book provides a comprehensive review of the biophysics and nanotechnology of ion channels. It details the biological and physiological entities of ion channels in cells and addresses various physical perspectives of ion channel structures and functions. Naturally inbuilt and artificial applicable nanotechnologies of ion channels are modelled and explored. It discusses various methods that can be utilized toward understanding ion channel-based cellular diseases. Physical, biochemical, biomedical, and bioinformatics techniques are taken into consideration to enable the development of strategies to address therapeutic drug discovery and delivery. This book will be of interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in biophysics and related biomedical sciences in addition to researchers in the field and industry. Features: Provides a stimulating introduction to the structures and functions of ion channels of biological cell membranes and discusses the biophysics of ion channels in condensed matter state and physiological condition Addresses natural processes and nanotechnology opportunities for their purposeful manipulation Lays the groundwork for vitally important medical advances Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, a biophysicist and condensed matter scientist, is passionate about investigating biological and biochemical processes utilizing the principles and techniques of physics. He is an associate professor at King Saud University’s Biochemistry Department of College of Science, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the co-founder of MDT Canada Inc., and the founder of Child Life Development Institute, Edmonton, Canada. He also authored Nanoscale Biophysics of the Cell and Membrane Biophysics.