Kanazawa University research: Professor Toshio Ando is awarded Japan's prestigious honor of the Purple Ribbon in the 2023 Spring conferment for the development of high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM)

KANAZAWA, Japan, April 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kanazawa University is proud to announce that Professor Toshio Ando—a member of the Kanazawa University Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI)— has been awarded the honor of the Purple Ribbon by the Japanese government in recognition for his groundbreaking research in the field of AFM and his contributions to the development of HS-AFM.

First awarded in 1955, the honor of the Purple Ribbon is one of Japan's most prestigious national awards for academic achievement recognizing individuals 'who have contributed to academic and artistic developments, improvements and accomplishments'.

Professor Ando's research has been instrumental in advancing understanding of the molecular world, enabling the observation of the behavior of individual molecules in time frames of 0.1 s or less. His development of HS-AFM has allowed for the rapid imaging of biological systems, providing new insights into the structure and function of proteins and other biomolecules.

Speaking about the award, Professor Ando said: "Science and technology are Japan's weak points nowadays. Most of the cryogenic electron microscopes, for example, are made by foreign manufacturers. Under such circumstances, the HS-AFM is Japan's technology that we should be proud of."

On approaches to technology development and research in Japan, he said: "It's important for researchers to be able to make things work that do not work in the way they want them to."

In his messages to young researchers, Professor Ando said: "What is important in research is originality. You should let your curiosity guide your research. If you notice originality, challenge it."

Summary of Accomplishment

High-speed atomic force microscopy

The most effective approach to understanding the functional mechanisms of biomolecules underlying life phenomena is to directly observe the structure and dynamics of individual molecules during their functional activity. However, such observation is infeasible with conventional methods such as X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and fluorescent microscopy. Meanwhile, the emergence of AFM enabled nanoscale visualization of biomolecules in physiological environments, but it could not observe moving samples because capturing an image took minutes.

Professor Ando aimed at enhancing the imaging rate of AFM. To this end, he developed various underlying techniques such as high-speed scanners, vibration damping techniques, and high-speed feedback control techniques. These efforts resulted in the establishment of HS-AFM capable of filming biomolecules in less than 100 milliseconds without disturbing them. For the first time ever, this HS-AFM enabled direct observation of the structure and dynamics of individual biomolecules in action, thus opening the door to a more detailed understanding of how biomolecules function.

The HS-AFM system is commercialized and widely used all over the world. Its application has grown beyond basic life science to encompass industries that needs nanoscale observation of dynamic phenomena of materials in liquid, including those producing pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, detergents, and batteries. Consequently, HS-AFM is also contributing to the development of diverse products serving people's daily lives.

Details of HS-AFM technology

• Use of a micro cantilever and development of an advanced optical lever optical system.
  The system employes a small cantilever with a small spring constant (soft) and high resonance frequency (quick response), which enables high frequency vibration without damaging the sample. Also, the sophistication of the optical lever optical system so that the laser beam can be narrowed down to 1/1000 that is applicable to small cantilevers for high speed operation.
• Speeding up amplitude measurement instruments
  The system has an improved amplitude measurement instrument so that the amplitude of the cantilever vibrating at high frequencies can be measured every half cycle.
• Highly precise control of the distance between the probe and the sample by dynamic PID feedback control and drift compensation.
• Sophisticated sample stage scanner control using counterbalance, Q value control and inverse compensation.

Impact of high-speed atomic force microscopy

Professor Ando's HS-AFM system enables imaging 1,000 times faster than conventional systems (60s to 0.05s). The system was commercially launched in 2010 and currently has 80% of the world's HS-AFM market share.

The HS-AFM has been used to image the dynamics of protein molecules, making it possible to carry out research that leads to elucidation of the functional mechanisms of protein molecules.

HS-AFM has opened up new fields in life sciences and is also used in a wide range of fields such as drug discovery, electrochemistry, colloid chemistry, and surface science.

It contributes to advancements in science and technology by creating new knowledge that could not be obtained with conventional AFM systems or related observation methods.

Currently, research and development is underway to further increase the speed, and the latest performance has achieved a time resolution of 0.025 seconds.

References and related information

1. Ando, T., Kodera, N., Maruyama, D., Takai, E., Saito, K., and Toda, A. "A High-speed atomic force microscope for studying biological macromolecules, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 12468–12472 (2001).
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.21140089

2. Kodera, N., Yamamoto, D., Ishikawa, R., and Ando, T. "Video imaging of walking myosin V by high-speed atomic force microscopy", Nature 468, 72–76 (2010).
DOI: 10.1038/nature09450

3. NanoLSI Podcast where Professor Ando describes the background to the publication of the book and his thoughts about the future of HS-AFM.

Link to Nano LSI Podcast
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/announcements/nanolsipodcast/

4. "High Speed AFM in Biology"
Springer Link
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-64785-1
ISBN: 978-3-662-64785-1
Published in 2022.

5. Feature article
NanoLSI World Premier Institute Kanazawa University
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/research/researchers/toshio-ando/

6. Kanazawa Biophysics Group
http://biophys.w3.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/

Contact
Hiroe Yoneda
Senior Specialist in Project Planning and Outreach
NanoLSI Administrative Office
WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)
Kanazawa University
Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
Email: nanolsi-office@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
Tel: +81 (76) 234-4550

About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/

Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University is a research center established in 2017 as part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The objective of this initiative is to form world-tier research centers. NanoLSI combines the foremost knowledge of bio-scanning probe microscopy to establish 'nano-endoscopic techniques' to directly image, analyze, and manipulate biomolecules for insights into mechanisms governing life phenomena such as diseases.

About Kanazawa University
http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/

As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.

The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa – a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2065651/Professor_Toshio_Ando.jpg