MICROBIAL CELL IMAGING USING ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY - Life at the Nanoscale: Atomic Force Microscopy of Live Cells - page 45

Chapter 3
MICROBIAL CELL IMAGING USING ATOMIC
FORCE MICROSCOPY
Mitchel J. Doktycz, a Claretta J. Sullivan, b Ninell Pollas Mortensen a,c and
David P. Allison a,c
a Biological and Nanoscale Systems Group, Biosciences Division,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6445, USA
b Eastern Virginia Medical School, Department of Surgery P.O. Box 1980 Norfolk,
VA 23501, USA
c Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996-0840, USA
[e-mail]
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is inding increasing application in a variety
of ields including microbiology. Until the emergence of AFM, techniques for
investigating processes in single microbes were limited. From a biologist's
perspective, the fact that AFM can be used to generate high-resolution images
in buffers or media is its most appealing feature as live-cell imaging can be
pursued. Imaging living cells by AFM allows dynamic biological events to
be studied, at the nanoscale, in real time. Few areas of biological research
have as much to gain as microbiology from the application of AFM. Whereas
the scale of microbes places them near the limit of resolution for light
microscopy, AFM is well suited for the study of structures on the order of
a micron or less. Although electron microscopy techniques have been the
standard for high-resolution imaging of microbes, AFM is quickly gaining
favour for several reasons. First, ixatives that impair biological activity are
not required. Second, AFM is capable of detecting forces in the pN range,