Atomic Force Microscopy For Nanoscale Biophysics

Atomic Force Microscopy for Nanoscale Biophysics: From Single Molecules to Living Cells summarizes the applications of atomic force microscopy for the investigation of biomolecules and cells. The book discusses the methodology of AFM-based biomedical detection, diverse biological systems, and the combination of AFM with other complementary techniques. These state-of-the-art chapters empower researchers to address biological issues through the application of atomic force microscopy. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a unique, multifunctional tool for investigating the structures and properties of living biological systems under aqueous conditions with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. Summarizes the recent progress of atomic force microscopy in biomedical applications Presents the methods and skills of applying atomic force microscopy Aids researchers in investigating the nanoscale biophysics of diverse biological systems

Proceeding from basic fundamentals to applications, this volume provides a comprehensive overview of the use of AFM and related scanning probe microscopies for cell surface analysis. It covers all cell types, from viruses and protoplasts to bacteria and animal cells. It also discusses a range of advanced AFM modalities, including high-resolution imaging, nanoindentation measurements, recognition imaging, and single-molecule and single-cell force spectroscopy. The book covers methodologies for preparing and analyzing cells and membranes of all kinds and highlights recent examples to illustrate the power of AFM techniques in life sciences and nanomedicine.

With its ability to explore the surface of the sample by means of a local scanning probe and its use of dedicated software allows to be visualize results, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has revolutionized the study of the smallest aspects of life. Atomic Force Microscopy in Biomedical Research: Methods and Protocols proves that this technology is no longer simply just another form of microscopy but has given rise to a completely new way of using microscopy that fulfils the dreams of all microscopists: being able to touch, move, and interact with the sample while it is being examined, thus making it possible to discover not only morphological but also chemical and physical structural information. Covering such topics as molecule imaging, nanoscale surface analysis and cellular imaging, force-spectroscopy, investigating drug action, and AFM as a nanotool, this volume features the most up-to-date techniques currently in use. Written in the Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and expert tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Atomic Force Microscopy in Biomedical Research: Methods and Protocols brings together different types of applications in order to provide examples from diverse fields in the hope of inspiring researchers to apply their ingenuity in their own specialization and add significant originality to their varying studies.

This volume will be devoted to the technical aspects of electrical and electromechanical SPM probes and SPM imaging on the limits of resolution, thus providing technical introduction into the field. This volume will also address the fundamental physical phenomena underpinning the imaging mechanism of SPMs.

This book explains the operating principles of atomic force microscopy with the aim of enabling the reader to operate a scanning probe microscope successfully and understand the data obtained with the microscope. This enhanced second edition to "Scanning Probe Microscopy" (Springer, 2015) represents a substantial extension and revision to the part on atomic force microscopy of the previous book. Covering both fundamental and important technical aspects of atomic force microscopy, this book concentrates on the principles the methods using a didactic approach in an easily digestible manner. While primarily aimed at graduate students in physics, materials science, chemistry, nanoscience and engineering, this book is also useful for professionals and newcomers in the field, and is an ideal reference book in any atomic force microscopy lab.

Filling a gap in the literature, this book features in-depth discussions on amplitude modulation AFM, providing an overview of the theory, instrumental considerations and applications of the technique in both academia and industry. As such, it includes examples from material science, soft condensed matter, molecular biology, and biophysics, among others. The text is written in such a way as to enable readers from different backgrounds and levels of expertise to find the information suitable for their needs.

With the wide application of nanotechnology in scientific research as well as in industrial product development, it is urgent to develop appropriate tools for investigating and manipulating molecules, especially macromolecules at the nanoscale level. Different microscopes are typical equipment. Due to the high resolution, being maximally close to samples' original status and the low requirement of sample preparation, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been applied as a nanotechnology tool since it was invented in 1986. As this equipment utilises the force between the sample and scanning tip rather than the light signal as used by many other microscopes, samples with different optical properties can be investigated with AFM without limitations. AFM has many modes including contact mode and non-contact mode, which can be applied for achieving different purposes depending on the samples' properties and final purposes. Recent force spectroscopy can measure the interaction forces of the tip-sample, which is a function of distance between the tip and the sample, thus called a force-distance curve. Force spectroscopy can also be conducted with static or dynamic modes, which has been widely applied in many fields, especially in biophysics for measuring mechanical properties of living organisms or cells. This book focuses on the research on AFM principles, modes of operation and limitation and they are discussed with detailed examples in various fields, ranging from inorganic materials in physics to organic materials in food science, biomedical science, chemistry and others.

Recent developments in atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been accomplished through various technical and instrumental innovations, including high-resolution and recognition imaging technology under physiological conditions, fast-scanning AFM, and general methods for cantilever modification and force measurement. All these techniques are now highly