Although atomic force microscopy (AFM) offers many significant advantages over the conventional microscopies used in the biological and medical sciences, its use is more familiar to physicists and engineers than to biomedical researchers. In Atomic Force Microscopy: Biomedical Methods and Applications, highly experienced physicians and biologists clearly explain the basic technical knowledge needed to use AFM and demonstrate its multifarious uses in biomedicine and the life sciences. The applications range widely from morphostructural analyses of cellular structures, to the investigation of subcellular structures, to functional investigations, and reveal a powerful new way of looking at biological samples. Each tested protocol includes step-by-step instructions to ensure successful experimental results, background material on the principle behind the technique, tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls, and notes on how to distinguish artifacts from useful data. The methods clearly demonstrate the advantages of AFM over traditional life science microscopy, among them simultaneous very high magnification and resolution, minimal tissue and cell preparation, and the ability to obtain different views of the sample from a single data collection.
Cutting-edge and highly practical, Atomic Force Microscopy: Biomedical Methods and Applications will help all investigators in biology and medicine open a new microscopic world, develop novel applications, and apply this powerful technology productively in their own work.