ABSTRACT
Various modes of scanning force microscopy (SFM) have been used in studies of surfaces and interfaces since the conception of S F M in the early 1980s [1-4]. An increasing number of SFM-based studies are being devoted to biological systems and biomaterials [5-12]. The spatially resolved information about materials surface energetics, topography, and mechanical properties such as compliance is available from local S F M force-displacement measurements (often referred to as 'force curves'), i.e. from the local force interaction profiles between the SFM probe and a small area of the specimen [13]. The S F M technique can be used to
correlate the spatial distribution of these material properties with the material's biocompatibility, which ultimately depends on an intricate combination of surface energetics, topography, and mechanical properties.
