2.2.4 Tip radius and spring constant measurement
The radius of each individual AFM tip was measured from scanning electron microscope
(SEM) images using the iterative method described in the literature [1]. The spring
constant of each tip was directly measured by the added mass method [52]. The thermal
resonance frequency of the cantilever was measured before and after the addition of a
known mass, M, by micromanipulation, yielding frequencies vɪ and V2, respectively. The
known mass was a 6 mm spherical silica bead with a well-defined shape and density
(Bangs Laboratories, Fishers, IN). The shift in resonant frequency yields the spring
constant using the following relation:
к = (2л-)2
(2.3)
2.2.5 Finite Element Modeling
Force curves were analyzed with numerical solutions to the full nonlinear Poisson-
Boltzmann equation using a commercial software package (FlexPDE 5.0.8, PDE
Solutions, Antioch, CA). To simulate the interaction between a silicon nitride AFM tip
and a supported lipid membrane, the domains displayed in Figure 2.1 were set up.
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