Tapping-mode atomic force microscopy on intact cells: optimal adjustment of tapping conditions by using the deflection signal (original) (raw)

Di$culties in the proper adjustment of the scanning parameters are often encountered when using tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TMAFM) for imaging thick and soft material, and particularly living cells, in aqueous bu!er. A simple procedure that drastically enhances the successfull imaging of the surface of intact cells by TMAFM is described. It is based on the observation, in liquid, of a de#ection signal, concomitant with the damping of the amplitude that can be followed by amplitude}distance curves. For intact cells, the evolution of the de#ection signal, steeper than the amplitude damping allows a precise adjustment of the feedback value. Besides its use in "nding the appropriate tapping conditions, the de#ection signal provides images of living cells that essentially reveal the organization of the membrane cytoskeleton. This allows to show that changes in the membrane surface topography are associated with a reorganization of the membrane skeleton. Studies on the relationships between the cell surface topography and membrane skeleton organization in living cells open a new "eld of applications for the atomic force microscope.

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