Atomic force microscopy for high-resolution imaging in cell biology

Abstract

Historically, microscopy has been a tool of primary importance to the cell biologist. The scanning tunnelling microscope I started a revolution in microscopy that has led to the emergence of a family of scanning probe microscopes. These instru- ments pass a probe in close proximity to a surface, and collect spatially re- solved information about surface properties, such as tunnelling current, physical topography, ion conduc- tance or temperature 2. One of the most promising members of this family of instruments for biological applications is the atomic force microscope (AFM, also known as the scanning force microscope)3, 4. On hard samples the AFM can often resolve atoms, while on soft biological materials the lateral resol- ution is currently 1-50 nm. Its ability to image in fluids, including physio- logical buffers, and to gather dy- namic data points to a bright future