Abstract
Atomic Force microscopy (AFM) is becoming a prevalent tool in cell biology and biomedical studies, especially those focusing on the mechanical properties of cells and tissues. The newest generation of bio‐AFMs combine ease of use and seamless integration with live‐cell epifluorescence or more advanced optical microscopies. As a unique feature with respect to other bionanotools, AFM provides nanometer‐resolution maps for cell topography, stiffness, viscoelasticity, and adhesion, often overlaid with matching optical images of the probed cells. This review is intended for those about to embark in the use of bio‐AFMs, and aims to assist them in designing an experiment to measure the mechanical properties of adherent cells. In addition to describing the main steps in a typical cell mechanics protocol and explaining how data is analysed, this review will also discuss some of the relevant contact mechanics models available and how they have been used to characterize specific features of cellular and biological samples. Microsc. Res. Tech. 80:75–84, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Highlights
The study of cell mechanics has attracted blooming interest from the cell biology and biomedical communities in the last decade
The scientific relevance of any Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)-based study is as good as the alignment between (1) the research question, (2) the measurement protocol chosen, (3) the assumptions made about the studied sample, and (4) the contact mechanics model used to Review Editor: Prof
While obtaining high-resolution topography of cellular surfaces is a useful feature, the key advantage of AFM for cell mechanics is the possibility to perform force measurements at desired cellular locations using the tip of the cantilever as indenter
Summary
The study of cell mechanics has attracted blooming interest from the cell biology and biomedical communities in the last decade. The tip interacts with the probed sample and attractive/repulsive forces cause the cantilever to bend.
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