This proposal was received in response to the Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative NSF 01-157, category NER, and is co-funded by the GEO and ENG Directorates. The collaborative team states that while it is generally held that inter- and intra-molecular forces ultimately govern the interactions between biomolecules and inorganic surfaces, it is difficult to gain an appreciation of these forces because they exist at a seemingly infinitesimal magnitude. The central aim of this proposal is to begin to bridge this gap by using force microscopy to discover and explore the nanoscale forces at the interface between bacterially produced proteins and mineral surfaces or other inorganic phases. Force measurements will provide a quantitative measure of the natural affinity between nanoscale biomolecules and inorganic surfaces. These force data will be used to design a soft-lithographic technique in which a bacterium is used as a living "pen" that produces and secretes various proteins as nanoscale patterns onto a solid surface.
