Atomic Force Microscopy Topographic Images Research Articles

Precise Surface Profiling at the Nanoscale Enabled by Deep Learning.

Surface topography, or height profile, is a critical property for various micro- and nanostructured materials and devices, as well as biological systems. At the nanoscale, atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the tool of choice for surface profiling due to its capability to noninvasively map the topography of almost all types of samples. However, this method suffers from one drawback: the convolution of the nanoprobe's shape in the height profile of the samples, which is especially severe for sharp protrusion features. Here, we report a deep learning (DL) approach to overcome this limit. Adopting an image-to-image translation methodology, we use data sets of tip-convoluted and deconvoluted image pairs to train an encoder-decoder based deep convolutional neural network. The trained network successfully removes the tip convolution from AFM topographic images of various nanocorrugated surfaces and recovers the true, precise 3D height profiles of these samples.

Effect of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid on the Hematological, Hepatic, and Renal Functions of Albino Rats

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have unique properties as antibacterial effects against locally isolated clinical Escherichia coli. In this study, the evaluated the antibacterial activity of AgNPs, which were synthesized by laser ablation, against locally isolated clinical Escherichia coli on nutrient agar media in vitro. Then assessed the toxicity of the bactericidal dose in albino rats in vivo with hematological, liver, and kidney functions as vital parameters. AgNPs were synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL). AgNPs’ shape and nano size were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). UV peak absorption was observed at 434 nm, which produced an average particle diameter of 28.09 nm. The SEM and AFM topography images of the synthesized nanoparticles showed that they had a spherical shape. Also studied was the toxicity of the synthesized AgNPs in vivo. Four groups of albino rats were used. The liver and kidneys were found to be the main organs that accumulate AgNP. In this study, we examined the influence of intraperitoneally injected AgNPs on blood parameters (complete blood picture) and liver and kidney functions of albino rats. Blood ALP and serum test (GOT and GPT), serum urea and serum creatinine were analyzed at 15, 30, and 60 days after injection of 200 mg/kg of PLAL-synthesized AgNP. The results did not indicate statistically significant differences between the control and treatment groups in blood picture and enzyme levels tested that indicate proper liver function. Additionally, no differences in kidney functions were found during varying time intervals in the blood of rats. Thus, PLAL-synthesized AgNPs could inhibit Escherichia coli bacterial growth.

Electrospun Cactus Mucilage/Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanofibers as a Novel Wall Material for Dill Seed Essential Oil (Anethum graveolens L.) Encapsulation: Release and Antibacterial Activities.

This study aimed to create long-lasting carriers by producing electrospun nanofibers loaded with dill seed (Anethum graveolens L.) essential oil (DSEO), using cactus mucilage (CM) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Continuous and uniform electrospun nanofibers with a diameter of 158 ± 18 to 230 ± 26 nm were successfully made from the CM/PVA blend solution and the CM/PVA/DSEO emulsion. Atomic force microscopy topographic images revealed that the electrospun nanofibers had a tubular morphology. The thermogravimetric curves of DSEO, CM, pure PVA, and electrospun nanofibers demonstrate that the polymers used and the essential oil have effective chemical interactions. The water contact angle results suggest that the manufactured nanofibers are hydrophilic. CM/PVA consistently achieves a remarkable encapsulation efficiency of 100% DSEO. The electrospun nanofibers enabled the controlled release of free and encapsulated DSEO, resulting in sustained long-term release. The agar disk diffusion technique was used to study the antimicrobial activity of electrospun nanofibers and nanofibers containing DSEO against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. With a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2.5 mg/mL and a minimum bactericidal concentration of 5 mg/mL, electrospun nanofibers containing DSEO demonstrated bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities against foodborne pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The DSEO-loaded electrospun nanofibers derived from carbohydrates show promise as an active interior coating for use in biomedical and food packaging applications.

Green-synthetized β-amino-α-carbethoxy ethyl acrylates as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in acid media: Experimental performance evaluation and atomic/molecular-level modeling

Two β-amino acrylate derivatives were synthesized through a solvent- and heating-free mechanochemical procedure. Those substances were tested as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in acidic environment (1 mol/L HCl). Weight Loss Study demonstrated that both molecules mitigate corrosion with 85 and 90 % efficiencies. Electrochemical experiments proved that the corrosion mechanism is charge transfer and that the presence of EOAB and DBMM at any tested concentration in the electrolyte significantly increases the polarization resistance and lowers the corrosion density current. This phenomenon is due to the adsorption of the molecules on the mild steel surface, leading to the formation of a protection film that prevents the corrosion reaction, as suggested by Atomic Force Microscopy topographic images. The self-consistent-charge density-functional tight-binding method (SCC-DFTB) revealed that their adsorption strength on the iron surface followed well the corrosion inhibition performance. Both inhibitor molecules formed covalent bonds with iron atoms as evidenced from stable adsorption geometries and projected density of states. Quantum chemical parameters seem to fail in predicting the experimental performance. Outcomes from the present study confirmed the fact that an additional functional group would lead to an increased inhibition performance is not a granted correlation.

Insight into the photoluminescence and morphological characteristics of transition metals (TM = Mn, Ni, Co, Cu)-doped ZnO semiconductor: a comparative study

In this work, undoped and transition metal (TM = Mn, Ni, Co, Cu)-doped ZnO thin films were grown on Si substrate using the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique, adhering to the same deposition conditions to compare their morphological and photoluminescent characteristics. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy were used to investigate the chemical composition, morphology, and luminescence properties, respectively. XPS results indicate that Mn and Ni ions have bivalent and trivalent electronic states coexisting in the ZnO lattice, Cu ions have both monovalent and bivalent states, and Co ions have only bivalent states. Besides, there is a considerable increase in the level of oxygen vacancies observed upon TM doping. The topographic and phase-contrast AFM images, supported by their associated statistical parameters and mean height distribution histograms, reveal that TM doping increases the tendency for crystalline grains to coalesce in 3D, resulting in a more roughened surface, larger grains with prominent boundaries, increased porosity, and an inhomogeneous height distribution. PL spectra of TM-ZnO show a broadening of the ZnO band gap accompanied by different luminescence behavior compared to pure ZnO regarding both UV and visible emissions. CuZnO is characterized by a green luminescence, CoZnO and MnZnO by a red luminescence, and ZnO and NiZnO by a broad visible luminescence. The possible mechanism for defect luminescence in each TM-ZnO sample was systematically investigated. The chromaticity color coordinates of the PL emissions show that the films provide different color regions well distributed on the CIE chromaticity diagram. The findings regarding the coexistence of two valence states of TM doping, the level of oxygen vacancies, the grain coalescence process, and the luminescence characteristics are carefully correlated and discussed herein.

Morphological changes of mitochondria-related to apoptosis during postmortem aging of beef muscles.

This study aimed to investigate how postmortem muscle cells' mitochondria changed in morphology from three aspects: the outer membrane, cristae, and fission/fusion. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) results showed that mitochondria underwent a morphology transformation from normal to swelling and collapse. Meanwhile, the cleavage of OPA1, upregulation of OMA1, downregulation of Mic60 and transmission electron microscope micrographs revealed that mitochondrial cristae ruptured with an aging time extended. Additionally, the increased expressions of Fis1 and Drp1, and the AFM topographic images mutually confirmed mitochondrial fission. These results further proved from the perspective of mitochondrial morphology that the degree of mitochondrial damage increased with the postmortem aging time extended, which was consistent with the results of the release of cytochrome c caused by the increase of mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening and the decrease of mitochondrial membrane permeability, and further induced the apoptosis of postmortem muscle cells.

Experimental comparison of unbonded, agglutinated and sintered SiC-based magnetic abrasive particles in magnetic abrasive finishing process

Aluminum grabs a spot in the top ten light metals and henceforth finds a wide range of applications in the aerospace industry and other concerned/allied industries. A high surface finish is obligatory in a few components. The objective of this research is to compare and analyze the internal surface finish obtained by unbonded, agglutinated, and sintered silicon carbide (SiC) based magnetic abrasives in aluminum pipes using magnetic abrasive finishing process. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have aided in a close inspection of the topography of the surfaces. AFM topographic images indicate that sintered magnetic abrasive particles yielded a surface roughness value (Ra = 17.7 nm) followed by agglutinated (Ra = 34.98 nm) and unbonded magnetic abrasive particles (Ra = 99.3 nm). Maximum percentage improvement in surface finish (PISF) of 87 % in terms of Ra has been obtained at rotational speed of workpiece (1000 rpm), magnetic flux density (0.85 Tesla), quantity of abrasive particles (15 gm), size of abrasives (80 μm) and machining time (30 mins.).

Effects of curcumin in the interaction with cardiolipin-containg lipid monolayers and bilayers

Curcumin, a plant polyphenol extracted from the Chinese herb turmeric, has gained widespread attention in recent years because of its multifunctional properties as antioxidant, antinflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer agent. Effects of the molecule on mitochondrial membranes properties have also been evidenced. In this work, the interaction of curcumin with models of mitochondrial membranes composed of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) or mixtures of DMPC and 4 mol% tetramyristoylcardiolipin (TMCL) has been investigated by using biophysical techniques. Spectrophotometry and fluorescence allowed to determine the association constant and the binding energy of curcumin with pure DMPC and mixed DMPC/TMCL aqueous bilayers. The molecular organization of pure DMPC and cardiolipin-containing Langmuir monolayers at the air-water interface were investigated and the morphology of the monolayers transferred into mica substrates were characterized through atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is found that curcumin associates at the polar/apolar interface of the lipid bilayers and the binding is favored in the presence of cardiolipin. At 2 mol%, curcumin is well miscible with lipid monolayers, particularly with mixed DMPC/TMCL ones, where compact terraces formation characterized by a reduction of the surface roughness is observed in the AFM topographic images. At 10 mol%, curcumin perturbs the stability of DMPC monolayers and morphologically are evident terraces surrounded by cur aggregates. In the presence of TMCL, very few curcumin aggregates and larger compact terraces are observed. The overall results indicate that cardiolipin augments the incorporation of curcumin in model membranes highlighting the mutual interplay cardiolipin-curcumin in mitochondrial membranes.

Microstructural and Mechanical Characterization of Al Nanocomposites Using GCNs as a Reinforcement Fabricated by Induction Sintering

High-energy ball milling is a process suitable for producing composite powders whose achieved microstructure can be controlled by the processing parameters. Through this technique, it is possible to obtain a homogeneous distribution of reinforced material into a ductile metal matrix. In this work, some Al/CGNs nanocomposites were fabricated through a high-energy ball mill to disperse nanostructured graphite reinforcements produced in situ in the Al matrix. To retain the dispersed CGNs in the Al matrix, avoiding the precipitation of the Al4C3 phase during sintering, the high-frequency induction sintering (HFIS) method was used, which allows rapid heating rates. For comparative purposes, samples in the green and sintered state processed in a conventional electric furnace (CFS) were used. Microhardness testing was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the reinforcement in samples under different processing conditions. Structural analyses were carried out through an X-ray diffractometer coupled with a convolutional multiple whole profile (CMWP) fitting program to determine the crystallite size and dislocation density; both strengthening contributions were calculated using the Langford-Cohen and Taylor equations. According to the results, the CGNs dispersed in the Al matrix played an important role in the reinforcement of the Al matrix, promoting the increase in the dislocation density during the milling process. The strengthening contribution of the dislocation density was ~50% of the total hardening value, while the contribution by dispersion of CGNs was ~22% in samples with 3 wt. % C and sintered by the HFIS method. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the morphology, size, and distribution of phases present in the Al matrix. From the analyses carried out in AFM (topography and phase images), the CGNs are located mainly around crystallites and present height profiles of 1.6 to 2 nm.

Spatiotemporal Mapping of Hole Nucleation and Growth during Block Copolymer Terracing with High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy.

As a platform for investigating two-dimensional phase separation, we track the structural evolution of block copolymer thin films during thermal annealing with environmentally controlled atomic force microscopy (AFM). Upon thermal annealing, block copolymer films with incommensurate thickness separate into a terraced morphology decorated with holes. With in situ imaging at 200 °C, we follow the continuous progression of terrace formation in a single region of a cylinder-forming poly(styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) thin film, beginning with the disordered morphology on an unpatterned silicon substrate and continuing through nucleation and coarsening stages. Topographic AFM imaging with nanoscale resolution simultaneously captures ensemble hole growth statistics while locally tracking polymer diffusion through measurements of the film thickness. At early times, we observe homogeneous hole nucleation and isotropic growth, with kinetics following the predictions of classical nucleation theory. At later times, however, we find anomalous hole growth which arises due to the combination of Ostwald ripening and coalescence mechanisms. In each case, our real-space observations highlight the importance of hole interactions for determining coarsening kinetics, mediated either through the interconnected phase for Ostwald ripening or through binary collision events for coalescence.

Polymerization of aromatic dinitroso derivatives initiated by nitroso-terminated monolayer on Au(111) surface: Insights from ellipsometry, AFM and nano-FTIR spectroscopy

The possibility of on-surface intermolecular interactions of aromatic C-nitroso derivatives and the formation of azodioxy polymer thin films were studied by ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoscale Fourier transform infrared (nano-FTIR) spectroscopy. The nitroso terminal groups of monolayers of 3-thiocyanatopropyl-4-nitrosobenzoate on Au(111) surface were used as initiation sites for formation of azodioxy linkages by interactions with the six structurally different aromatic dinitroso derivatives prone to polymerization. Ellipsometry showed increased thicknesses of films formed by interactions of nitroso groups at the monolayer interface and aromatic dinitroso derivatives in solution suggesting the formation of azodioxy oligomer films. The obtained thickness values indicated that the films are composed of only a few monomeric subunits or that poorly organized surface structures are formed with possibly tilted and intertwined chains. Ellipsometry data were corroborated with AFM topography images which revealed the appearance of a high number of islands, attributed to domains of azodioxy oligomers, and increased local RMS roughness values. Both ellipsometry and AFM indicated a greater tendency towards the azodioxy oligomers on the Au(111) surface at longer adsorption times. Nano-FTIR spectroscopy enabled chemical identification of the films at the nanoscale. Bands attributed to the E-azodioxy groups were detected in nano-FTIR spectra, which strongly supported the conclusion that the islands in the AFM images represent azodioxy oligomers, the formation of which was initiated by interactions of nitroso groups at the monolayer interface with dinitroso derivatives in solution.

Characterization of RNA Nanoparticles and Their Dynamic Properties Using Atomic Force Microscopy.

The protocol described in this chapter allows for acquiring topography images of RNA-based nanoring structures and assessing their dynamic properties using atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging. AFM is an indispensable tool for characterization of nucleic acid-based nanostructures with the exceptional capability of observing complexes in the range of a few nanometers. This method can visualize structural characteristics and evaluate differences between individual structurally different RNA nanorings. Due to the highly resolved AFM topography images, we introduce an approach that allows to distinguish the differences in the dynamic behavior of RNA nanoparticles not amenable to other experimental techniques. This protocol describes in detail the preparation procedures of RNA nanostructures, AFM imaging, and data analysis.

On the nature and propagation of errors in roughness parameters obtained from spectral analysis of atomic force microscopy topographic images

Scale-dependent surface roughness strongly affects critical surface properties of materials, including adhesion, wettability, and optical/thermal properties. As a particular example, tuning the ratio of the true to nominal area—a parameter that depends on the root mean square (RMS) local slope of the finest scales of topography—is an effective approach to tailor the wetting characteristics of solid surfaces. While power spectral density (PSD) analysis of atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographic images allows for directly assessing the scale-dependence of surface roughness, this approach to analyze AFM height maps requires power-law modeling and extrapolation of a PSD with inherently non-normal error distributions. Here, we use a Monte Carlo approach based on synthetic AFM images of known input power-law parameters to (1) evaluate the accuracy of fitting techniques based on the expected distribution of the PSD; (2) evaluate the error propagation from the standard errors of the fitted power-law parameters to the computed RMS slope and area ratio; and (3) evaluate the statistical power of various PSD regression techniques when differentiating surfaces. The results indicated that standard error for ordinary least squares on a log-log PSD (log OLS) underpredicts the observed variance by ∼50%. This underprediction can be eliminated by implementing a log-link gamma regression. Moreover, when propagating the standard error to derived parameters (e.g., the RMS slope), the propagated error is generally conservative relative to the observed variance and closely predicts the observed variance when extrapolating to the finest scale. This result demonstrates the possibility of accurately estimating roughness parameters that are critical for evaluating surface phenomena on the basis of fitting and extrapolating AFM data using self-affine models. Finally, our results provided evidence for the possibility of statistically differentiating surfaces with similar power-law parameters when using weighted gamma regression with a mean of 10 images, as opposed to unweighted log-OLS that requires as many as 10 000 images to differentiate images.

Bovicin HC5 and nisin reduce cell viability and the thermal resistance of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris endospores in fruit juices.

Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris is an important thermoacidophilic spore-forming bacterium in fruit-juice deterioration, and alternative non-thermal methods have been investigated to control fruit juice spoilage. This work aimed to evaluate the capacity of bovicin HC5 and nisin to inhibit the growth of vegetative cells and reduce the thermal resistance of endospores of A. acidoterrestris inoculated (107 CFU mL-1 ) in different fruit juices. The number of viable cells was determined after 12 h incubation at 43 °C in the presence and absence of nisin or bovicin HC5 (10-100 AU mL-1 ). The exposure time (min) required to kill 90% of the initial population (reduction of one log factor) at 90 ºC (D90ºC ) was used to assess the thermal resistance of A. acidoterrestris endospores exposed (80 AU mL-1 ) or non-exposed to the bacteriocins. Additionally, the effect of bovicin and nisin on the morphology and cell structure of A. acidoterrestris was evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Bovicin HC5 and nisin were bactericidal against A. acidoterrestris inoculated in fruit juices and reduced the D90°C values up to 30-fold. AFM topographical images revealed substantial structural changes in the cellular framework of vegetative cells upon treatment with bovicin HC5 or nisin. These results emphasize the potential application of lantibiotics as additional hurdles in food processing to control thermoacidophilic spoilage bacteria in fruit juices. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Study of Amyloid Fibers Using Atomic Force Microscopy.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides high-resolution images of the topography of amyloid fibers adsorbed on surfaces. This information is very useful to study their molecular assembly under various conditions. This chapter describes the basic protocols required to deposit fibers on flat surfaces and discusses some of the practical issues required to operate a good commercial microscope setup to obtain appropriate high-resolution AFM topographic images of amyloid fibers.

Direct Visualization of Interfacial Regions between Fillers and Matrix in Rubber Composites Observed by Atomic Force Microscopy-Based Nanomechanics Assisted by Electron Tomography.

In order to explain or predict the macroscopic mechanical properties of polymer composites with complex nanostructures, atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanomechanics is one of the most appropriate tools because the local mechanical properties can be obtained by it. However, automatic force curve analysis based on contact mechanics would mislead us to the wrong conclusion. The purpose of this study is to elucidate this point by applying AFM nanomechanics on a carbon black (CB)-reinforced isoprene rubber (IR). The CB aggregates underneath the rubber surface prevent us from quantitatively evaluating the ratio of CB and interfacial polymer region (IPR), which is an important parameter to determine the macroscopic mechanical properties. In order to overcome this problem, transmission electron microtomography was incorporated to investigate the 3D structure in the same field of view as AFM nanomechanics. As a result, it was found that there are buried structures that do not appear in the AFM topographic image. In addition, we were able to reveal the existence of a force curve with an inflection point, which is characteristic of such "false" IPRs. To put it another way, we evidenced the existence of true IPRs for the first time by combining these state-of-the-art techniques.

Monte-Carlo evaluation of bias and variance in Hurst exponents computed from power spectral analysis of atomic force microscopy topographic images

Surface topography influences several surface properties, including friction and adhesion. While a statistical description of surface topography can be obtained from a power spectral density (PSD) analysis of atomic force microscopy (AFM) height maps and fitting the self-affine region of the PSD to determine the Hurst exponent (H), the accuracy of this approach has not been rigorously evaluated yet. Here, we use a Fourier filtering algorithm combined with a novel approach to simulate typical AFM scan-line anisotropy to generate synthetic AFM topography images with known input Hurst exponent. These synthetic AFM images are used as a Monte Carlo experiment to evaluate the variance and bias in H estimation from PSDs across different hypothetical experimental approaches, including the case of a cluster of images collected at one scan size (scale) and the case of a cluster of images collected at different scales. Our analysis reveals that estimates of the Hurst exponent from images collected at a single scale are persistently biased in a scale-dependent fashion despite misleading convergence in variance. This bias can be reduced by combining images collected at least at three different scales across the range of scales accessible to AFM.

Exploring Nanomechanical Properties of Soot Particle Layers by Atomic Force Microscopy Nanoindentation

In this work, an experimental investigation of the nanomechanical properties of flame-formed carbonaceous particle layers has been performed for the first time by means of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). To this aim, carbon nanoparticles with different properties and nanostructures were produced in ethylene/air laminar premixed flames at different residence times. Particles were collected on mica substrates by means of a thermophoretic sampling system and then analyzed by AFM. An experimental procedure based on the combination between semi-contact AFM topography imaging, contact AFM topography imaging and AFM force spectroscopy has been implemented. More specifically, a preliminary topological characterization of the samples was first performed operating AFM in semi-contact mode and then tip-sample interaction forces were measured in contact spectroscopy mode. Finally, semi-contact mode was used to image the indented surface of the samples and to retrieve the projected area of indents. The hardness of investigated samples was obtained from the force–distance curves measured in spectroscopy mode and the images of intends acquired in semi-contact mode. Moreover, the Young’s modulus was measured by fitting the linear part of the retraction force curves using a model based on the Hertz theory. The extreme force sensitivity of this technique (down to nNewton) in addition to the small size of the probe makes it extremely suitable for performing investigation of mechanical properties of materials at the nanoscale. The experimental procedure was successfully tested on reference materials characterized by different plastic behavior, e.g., polyethylene naphthalate and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. Both hardness and Young’s modulus values obtained from AFM measurements for different soot particle films were discussed.

Response of crude oil deposited organic layers to brines of different salinity: An atomic force microscopy study on carbonate surfaces

The various microscopic processes that take place during enhanced oil-recovery upon injecting low salinity brines are quite complex, particularly for carbonate reservoirs. In this study, we characterize the in-situ microscopic responses of the organic layers deposited on flat Iceland spar calcite surface to brines of different salinity using Atomic force Microscopy (AFM). Organic layers were deposited from crude oil at the end of a two-step aging procedure. AFM topography images reveal that the organic layers remain stable in high-salinity brines and desorb upon exposure to low-salinity brines. In addition, the organic layers swell in low-salinity brines, and the stiffness of the organic layers is found to directly proportional to the brine salinity. These observations are explained in terms of ‘salting-out’ effects, where the affinity of organic layers to solvent molecules increases upon reducing the brine salinity. The swelling and desorption of organic materials provide access for the brine to mineral surface causing dissolution and change in wetting properties of the surface. Our results show the significance of de-stabilizing the organic layer on rock surfaces in order to design any successful improved oil recovery (IOR) strategy.

Assessing the Functional Properties of TiZr Nanotubular Structures for Biomedical Applications, through Nano-Scratch Tests and Adhesion Force Maps.

In this work we present the results of a functional properties assessment via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)-based surface morphology, surface roughness, nano-scratch tests and adhesion force maps of TiZr-based nanotubular structures. The nanostructures have been electrochemically prepared in a glycerin + 15 vol.% H2O + 0.2 M NH4F electrolyte. The AFM topography images confirmed the successful preparation of the nanotubular coatings. The Root Mean Square (RMS) and average (Ra) roughness parameters increased after anodizing, while the mean adhesion force value decreased. The prepared nanocoatings exhibited a smaller mean scratch hardness value compared to the un-coated TiZr. However, the mean hardness (H) values of the coatings highlight their potential in having reliable mechanical resistances, which along with the significant increase of the surface roughness parameters, which could help in improving the osseointegration, and also with the important decrease of the mean adhesion force, which could lead to a reduction in bacterial adhesion, are providing the nanostructures with a great potential to be used as a better alternative for Ti implants in dentistry.