title: Stabilization of biological specimens by the use of plasma polymerized hydrocarbon film for imaging with an atomic force microscope.
abstract: An atomic force microscope makes imaging of biological molecules possible at high resolution. To this end all samples have to be fixed securely to a flat solid support so that they cannot be displaced by the scanning tip. We herein describe a new method to fix the biological samples to glass surfaces by depositing a thin layer of plasma polymerized methane gas in a high vacuum chamber. Such samples can thus be imaged repeatedly by an atomic force microscope without any loss of image quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Umeda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amako
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takade
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D017122:Bacteriophage T4 / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016591:Histocytological Preparation Techniques; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D011108:Polymers