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C. Grünberger, R. Ritter, H. Stachelberger, I. Gebeshuber:
"Atomic ForceAtomic Force Microscopy Investigation of Euglena Gracilis, the Producer of a Highly Efficient Monocrystalline Photodetector";
Talk: innano - advances in nano-biotechnology, Innsbruck/T; 10-20-2006; in: "Book of Abstracts innano - advances in nano-biotechnology", (2006), 12.

Euglena gracilis is a green algae species. Its photoreceptor allows for location of the direction of incident light. Depending on light intensity, light sources are either approached for photosynthesis or avoided to prevent cell damage. The photoreceptive crystal of E. gracilis is approximately one micrometer in diameter. We combine scanning probe methods with fluorescence microscopy for investigation of topographic as well as viscoelastic properties of this amazing nanostructured macromolecule. Our data corroborate high resolution transmission electron microscopy images and expand our knowledge to nanomechanical properties that yield information about the three dimensional arrangement of algal rhodopsin molecules. This work provides a basis for the use of such biomolecules as components in emerging nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) making use of ambient light.