Andrew Pelling

Internal/External Cellular Nanomechanical Dynamics.
Mechanobiology, Cell Mechanics and Biophysics.
Cellular and Molecular Statistical Fluctuations.
Atomic Force Microscopy, Traction Force Microscopy, Fluorescence and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy, Particle Rheology.

Contact details:
Office: 2P2I
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 3332
Fax: +44 (0)20 7679 0595
Email: a.pelling

Biography and Research Interests
Andrew E. Pelling obtained his HBSc in 2001 at the University of Toronto before moving to UCLA where he completed a PhD (Physical Chemistry) in 2005. Andrew is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the London Centre for Nanotechnology and the Centre for Nanomedicine, University College London. His research is primarily focused on the integration of multiple optical and electromagnetic techniques with AFM to study how nanomechanical forces can be used to manipulate and control single cells, tissues, organs and whole organisms. His highly collaborative and exploratory research has evolved into several projects in both the arts and sciences.

Recent Publications

Pelling, A. E., Veraitch, F. S., Chu, C., Nicholls, B. M., Hemsley, A., Mason, C. and Horton, M. A. "Mapping correlated membrane pulsations and fluctuations in human cells." J. Molecular Recognit. Accepted (2007).
Pelling, A. E., Dawson, D. W., Carreon, D. M., Christiansen, J. J., Shen, R. R., Teitell, M. A., and Gimzewski, J. K. "Distinct contributions of microtubule subtypes to cell membrane shape and stability." Nanomedicine 3, 43 (2007). [download PDF]

Haupt, B. J., Pelling, A. E. and Horton, M. A. "Integrated Confocal and Scanning Probe Microscopy for Biomedical Research." TheScientificWorldJOURNAL. 6, 1609 (2006). [download PDF]

Pelling, A. E., Li, Y., Cross, S. E., Castaneda, S., Shi, W. and Gimzewski, J. K. "Self-Organized and Highly Ordered Domains within Swarms of Myxococcus xanthus." Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton. 63, 141 (2006). [download PDF]

Pelling, A. E., Sehati, S., Gralla, E. B. and Gimzewski, J. K. "Time Dependence of the Frequency and Amplitude of the Local Nanomechanical Motion of Yeast." Nanomedicine 1, 178 (2005). [download PDF]

Pelling, A. E., Li, Y., Shi, W., and Gimzewski, J. K. "Nanoscale Visualization and Characterization of Myxococcus xanthus Cells with Atomic Force Microscopy." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 102, 6484 (2005). [download PDF]

Rong, W., Pelling, A. E., Ryan, A., Gimzewski, J. K., and Friedlander, S. K. "Complementary TEM and AFM Force Spectroscopy to Characterize the Nanomechanical Properties of Nanoparticle Chain Aggregates." Nano Lett. 4, 2287 (2004). [download PDF]

Sattin, B. D., Pelling, A. E., and Goh. M. C. "DNA Base Pair Resolution by Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy." Nuc. Acids. Res. 32, 4876 (2004). [download PDF]

Pelling, A. E., Sehati, S., Gralla, E. B., Valentine, J. S., and Gimzewski, J.K. "Local Nanomechanical Motion of the Cell Wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae." Science 304, 1147 (2004). [download PDF]

Research Images

The nanomechanical architecture of a living cell. Actin (red), Tubulin (green) and DNA (blue) in a fixed NIH3T3 Fibroblast imaged with confocal microscopy (80 um²).

The nucleus of a cell imaged with confocal microscopy (red = DNA, green = nuclear lamina). Nuclear stability governs the nanomechanical dynamics of cells during physiological processes.

Specially prepared traction substrates which allow the determination of nanomechanically transmitted forces from an AFM tip.

Specially prepared traction substrates which allow the determination of nanomechanically transmitted forces from the AFM tip. Phase contrast image (left, scale bar = 10um) of an AFM tip pushing on a living cell. A zoom (scale bar = 2.5 um) of the area shown in the white rectangle reveals local surface marker displacements at the cell edge in response to applied force (green = before, red = after force).