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Updated: Feb 26, 2026
Contact Mode Atomic Force Microscopy as a Rapid Technique for Morphological Observation and Bacterial Cell Damage Analysis
Published on: June 30, 2023
Atomic force microscopy study of morphological modifications induced by different decontamination treatments on
Florina Lucica Zorila1, Cristina Ionescu2, Liviu Stefan Craciun2
1"Horia Hulubei" National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, 30 Reactorului St., POB MG-6, 077125 Bucharest, Magurele, Romania; Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
Abstract:
In this paper we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the surface morphology of Escherichia coli, after being subjected to decontamination treatments, at sub-MICs levels (minimal inhibitory concentrations), with different disinfectants used in hospitals, pharmaceutical, food industry and even in our home, as an essential means to prevent the spreading of microorganisms. This article focuses on different morphological modifications adopted by E. coli cells as responses to the different modes of action of these substances. For high-resolution AFM images bacterial cells were immobilized on mica (Muscovite) disks. Each kind of treatment induces its distinct morphological changes, due to different mechanisms of action.
