title: Quantitative imaging of electrospun fibers by PeakForce Quantitative NanoMechanics atomic force microscopy using etched scanning probes.
abstract: Electrospun polymeric submicron and nanofibers can be used as tissue engineering scaffolds in regenerative medicine. In physiological conditions fibers are subjected to stresses and strains from the surrounding biological environment. Such stresses can cause permanent deformation or even failure to their structure. Therefore, there is a growing necessity to characterize their mechanical properties, especially at the nanoscale. Atomic force microscopy is a powerful tool for the visualization and probing of selected mechanical properties of materials in biomedical sciences. Image resolution of atomic force microscopy techniques depends on the equipment quality and shape of the scanning probe. The probe radius and aspect ratio has huge impact on the quality of measurement. In the presented work the nanomechanical properties of four different polymer based electrospun fibers were tested using PeakForce Quantitative NanoMechanics atomic force microscopy, with standard and modified scanning probes. Standard, commercially available probes have been modified by etching using focused ion beam (FIB). Results have shown that modified probes can be used for mechanical properties mapping of biomaterial in the nanoscale, and generate nanomechanical information where conventional tips fail.
authors.affiliation: Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: adrian.chlanda@inmat.pw.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chlanda
authors.affiliation: Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rebis
authors.affiliation: Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kijeńska
authors.affiliation: Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland; Warsaw University of Technology, University Research Centre - Functional Materials, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Michal J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wozniak
authors.affiliation: Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rozniatowski
authors.affiliation: Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Swieszkowski
authors.affiliation: Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, 141 Woloska str., 02-507, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Krzysztof J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Kurzydlowski
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: Atomic force microscopy; Electrospun fibers; Focused ion beam; Mechanical properties; PeakForce Quantitative NanoMechanics