AFM biomechanics at different scales: from tissues to cell membranes

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has got a fast development over the last decades mainly thanks to its versatility.

Indeed, AFM has shown unprecedented potential in the field of scanning probe microscopy, being able to operate in diverse environments and specimens, as well as to map simultaneously the topography and various physico-chemical properties of the scanned sample (e.g. adhesion, friction or elasticity) on different spatio-temporal scales, from µm to nm and from minutes to ms/µs.

In parallel, the research interest on biophysical topics for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes has been growing, along with the need for high resolution tools able to operate on biological systems in physiological conditions.

Particular attention has been paid to the field of mechanobiology, given the demonstrated correlation between mechanical properties and the patho-physiological state of many biological specimens.

In this context, AFM allows for the acquisition of simultaneous topographic and mechanical maps of several biological systems, ranging from the micro- to the nanoscale.

Recently, rising attention has been dedicated to the analysis of cellular membranes models and their interaction with small Extracellular vesicles (s-EVs), given the similarities of the latter to viral particles and their well-known capability to influence the fate of recipient cells.

This presentation gives some examples of AFM-based mechanobiology on cells, ECMs and tissues, as well as a quick review of the results obtained so far in the NanoInnovation Labs in Elettra on cellular membranes/s-EVs interactions.

Some future perspectives and the potential of the high-speed AFM acquired in the context of PRP project are also illustrated.

Speaker: Luca Puricelli, RIT (Area Science Park) – Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste