title: Imaging modes of atomic force microscopy for application in molecular and cell biology.
abstract: Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful, multifunctional imaging platform that allows biological samples, from single molecules to living cells, to be visualized and manipulated. Soon after the instrument was invented, it was recognized that in order to maximize the opportunities of AFM imaging in biology, various technological developments would be required to address certain limitations of the method. This has led to the creation of a range of new imaging modes, which continue to push the capabilities of the technique today. Here, we review the basic principles, advantages and limitations of the most common AFM bioimaging modes, including the popular contact and dynamic modes, as well as recently developed modes such as multiparametric, molecular recognition, multifrequency and high-speed imaging. For each of these modes, we discuss recent experiments that highlight their unique capabilities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences and Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology (WELBIO), Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, bte L7.07.06., B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yves F
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Dufrêne
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, CSIC, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences and Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology (WELBIO), Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 4-5, bte L7.07.06., B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alsteens
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Mattenstrasse 28, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martinez-Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of BioNanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.affiliation: Swiss Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 80, 4057 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Mattenstrasse 28, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003585:Cell Biology; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods