Past, present and future of atomic force microscopy in life sciences and medicine.
To introduce this special issue of the Journal of Molecular Recognition dedicated to the applications of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in life sciences, this paper presents a short summary of the history of AFM in biology. Based on contributions from the first international conference of AFM in biological sciences and medicine (AFM BioMed Barcelona, 19-21 April 2007), we present and discuss recent progress made using AFM for studying cells and cellular interactions, probing single molecules, imaging biosurfaces at high resolution and investigating model membranes and their interactions. Future prospects in these different fields are also highlighted.
Parot
Pierre
P
CEA-Valrhô DSV/iBEB/SBTN, 30207 Bagnols sur Cèze Marcoule, France. parot@cea.fr <parot@cea.fr>
Dufrêne
Yves F
YF
Hinterdorfer
Peter
P
Le Grimellec
Christian
C
Navajas
Daniel
D
Pellequer
Jean-Luc
JL
Scheuring
Simon
S
D000818:Animals; D001690:Biological Science Disciplines / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D001695:Biology / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D022082:Cellular Structures / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008511:Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods