Scanning Probe Microscopy Based Investigations at Single Cell Level

G-Y. Liu
University of California, Davis,
United States

Summary:

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been widely applied in cellular based research including high-resolution imaging and single-cell mechanics characterization. This presentation focuses on AFM-based single cell mechanics developed by our team,(1,2) where a glass-sphere-modified AFM probe is utilized to compress designated cell, while recording the force-deformation profile. Hertzian mechanics was applied to enable quantification of Young’s moduli of membrane and cytoskeleton, from these measurements. Further applications of this approach to the investigations of nanomaterial-cell interactions,(3) impact of stimuli on cellular movement,(4) and regulating of cellular signaling process will also be presented. (1) Langmuir, 2006, 22 (19), 8151-5. (2) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2010, 107 (31), 13872-7. (3) J Phys Chem B 2015, 119 (49), 15118-29. (4) J. Phys. Chem. B. 2023, 127, 866−873