We have developed a tool for performing surgical operations on living cells at nanoscale resolution using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a modified AFM tip. The AFM tips are sharpened to ultrathin needles of 200-300 nm in diameter using focused ion beam etching. Force-distance curves obtained by AFM using the needles indicated that the needles penetrated the cell membrane following indentati...

The high force sensitivity of the atomic force microscope (AFM) has opened the possibility of measuring interand intramolecular forces of biomolecules on the single molecule level. Covalent binding of bioligands to AFM tips converts them into monomolecular biosensors by which cognate receptors can be localized on the sample surface and fine details of ligand-receptor interaction can be studied....

The emergence of superconductivity in the iron pnictide or cuprate high temperature superconductors usually accompanies the suppression of a long-ranged antiferromagnetic (AFM) order state in a corresponding parent compound by doping or pressurizing. A great deal of effort by doping has been made to find superconductivity in Mn-based compounds, which are thought to bridge the gap between the tw...

We present experimental and theoretical results to describe and explain processing outcomes when producing nanochannels that are a few times wider than the atomic force microscope (AFM) probe using an AFM. This is achieved when AFM tip-based machining is performed with reciprocating motion of the tip of the AFM probe. In this case, different feed directions with respect to the orientation of th...

The atomic stick-slip behavior of a Pt tip sliding on a Au(111) surface is studied with atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments and accelerated (i.e., reduced sliding speed) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The MD and AFM conditions are controlled to match, as closely as possible, the geometry and orientation, load, temperature, and compliance. We observe clear stick-slip without any dama...

In atomic force microscopy (AFM), finding sparsely distributed regions of interest can be difficult and time-consuming. Typically, the tip is scanned until the desired object is located. This process can mechanically or chemically degrade the tip, as well as damage fragile biological samples. Protein assemblies can be detected using the back-scattered light from a focused laser beam. We previou...

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has become an essential tool for the measurement of surface characteristics of diverse materials on a microand nanoscale level [1]. The resolution of measurements for the AFM cantilever is related to its vibration sensitivity. Many researchers have much interest in studying the resonant frequency and sensitivity analysis of AFM cantilevers [2 4]. Cracks may be ...

Founded in June 2006, AFM BioMed organized its first international conference from 19 to 21 April 2007 in Barcelona (Pellequer et al., 2007). Hosted by Universitat de Barcelona, IBEC and the CEA, this event welcomed approximately 220 scientists from 24 countries reflecting the strong and rapidly growing enthusiasm for the use of AFM in the life sciences and medicine (Parot et al., 2007). The se...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to image a variety of virus particles in vitro and could, conceivably, be used as a useful diagnostic for their presence, their structural characterization and even their identification. Virus particles can be imaged by AFM in air, under alcohol or in physiological medium, and accurate measurements of their dimensions obtained. In addition, the appear...

Novel ground-state spin structures in undoped and lightly doped manganites are investigated based on the orbital-degenerate double-exchange model, via mean-field and numerical techniques. In undoped manganites, a new antiferromagnetic (AFM) state, called the E-type phase, is found adjacent in parameter space to the A-type AFM phase. Its structure is in agreement with recent experimental results...