ABSTRACT
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a technique that can be used for high-resolution real-time studies of properties of molecules at the nanoscale. The possibility of modifying the surface and manipulating individual molecules made AFM an ideal tool for biological and biomedical applications. Cell elasticity can be measured by nanoindentation with the most common AFM cantilevers, via the Hertzian theory. AFM lithography is a method in which it is possible to draw a pattern on a solid surface, by scratching, oxidation, or reduction, using the AFM tip. AFM has been used simultaneously with optical-fluorescence imaging in cell biology. AFM is a tool that allows imaging and force probing biological samples with nanometer topographical and piconewton force resolution. AFM-based force spectroscopy allows the measurement of inter- and intramolecular interaction forces required to separate the tip from the sample. Single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is a powerful tool for detecting and localizing single-molecule recognition events, and for exploring the energy landscape of molecular interactions.
