Short Communication - (2025) Volume 10, Issue 2
Received: 03-Mar-2025, Manuscript No. jncr-25-165202;
Editor assigned: 05-Mar-2025, Pre QC No. P-165202;
Reviewed: 19-Mar-2025, QC No. Q-165202;
Revised: 24-Mar-2025, Manuscript No. R-165202;
Published:
31-Mar-2025
, DOI: 10.37421/2572-0813.2025.10.281
Citation: Delzia, Shilva. “Advances in High-resolution Imaging Using Atomic Force Microscopy: From Biology to Nanomaterials.” J Nanosci Curr Res 10 (2025): 281.
Copyright: © 2025 Delzia S. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Recent innovations in High-Speed AFM (HS-AFM) have dramatically increased imaging rates, allowing real-time visualization of dynamic biological processes. These systems employ smaller cantilevers with higher resonance frequencies and optimized feedback control systems, achieving frame rates of several frames per second. Applications include observing conformational changes in proteins, tracking motor protein activity, and mapping dynamic membrane fluctuations. Peak Force Tapping, developed by Bruker, provides superior force control compared to traditional tapping or contact modes. This approach captures force-distance curves at every pixel, enabling simultaneous mapping of mechanical properties such as modulus, adhesion, and deformation. This capability is particularly useful in studying heterogeneous materials, polymer blends, and biological tissues. Functionalized AFM tips with specific chemical groups, antibodies, or ligands allow targeted interactions with sample surfaces. Chemical Force Microscopy (CFM) leverages these interactions to map surface chemistry at molecular resolution. These probes have been essential in receptor-ligand binding studies, membrane protein localization, and selective detection of nanomaterial surface functionalities.
AFM has enabled unprecedented insights into biological structures and functions. In cell biology, it provides nanomechanical profiles of live cells, offering biomarkers for disease states such as cancer. AFM has also been used to study DNA-protein interactions, virus morphology, and protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases. With HS-AFM, dynamic events like actin polymerization and enzyme activity can be observed in real-time under near-physiological conditions. AFM plays a pivotal role in characterizing nanomaterials, especially low-dimensional systems such as graphene, MoSâ??, and nanowires. Its ability to measure layer thicknesses, mechanical stiffness, and surface potential complements electron microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. In nanofabrication, AFM has also been used for lithography and nanoscale manipulation. In polymer science, AFM facilitates phase imaging, compositional mapping, and mechanical analysis of blends and block copolymers. The ability to perform these measurements under varied environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, makes AFM a key tool for understanding soft material behavior in realistic settings.
Despite its advantages, AFM faces several challenges. Imaging speed remains a limitation for observing fast processes in live systems. Tip convolution effects can reduce lateral resolution, and functionalized probes may suffer from variability and drift. To address these, developments are underway in machine learning-enhanced image reconstruction, integration with other techniques like super-resolution microscopy, and the creation of more robust, reproducible probes. The future of AFM lies in hybrid techniques-such as AFM-Raman, AFM-IR, and correlative light-electron-AFM microscopy-that offer multi-modal imaging and chemical characterization. Furthermore, automation and AI-driven analysis are expected to enhance throughput and reproducibility, expanding AFMâ??s utility in high-content biological and materials screening [1-5].
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