Chemical force microscopy with active enzymes

The adhesion forces have been measured between an atomic force microscope t ip derivatized with an active enzyme, shikimate kinase, and an ATP mimic im mobilized on a gold surface. Experiments with competitive binding of other ligands in solution show that the observed adhesion forces arise predominan tly from specific interactions between the immobilized enzyme and surface-b ound adenine derivative. These experiments represent a step in the developm ent of a screening methodology based upon chemical force microscopy.