Atomic Force Microscopy for Tumor Research at Cell and Molecule Levels.

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cancer Research
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Tumors present significant health challenges.
• Cellular physical properties like hardness and modulus are key indicators of cancer, invasion, and drug response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current research on atomic force microscopy (AFM) applications in tumor cell analysis.
• To systematically summarize AFM's role in measuring mechanical properties, topography, and molecular recognition of cancer cells.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing atomic force microscopy (AFM) for high-resolution imaging and force spectroscopy.
• Analyzing biomechanical properties (hardness, adhesion, Young's modulus) of biological samples.

Main Results:

• AFM provides nano-level spatial resolution under near-physiological conditions.
• Significant advances have been made in measuring mechanical properties, ultra-microtopography, and molecular recognition of tumor cells using AFM.

Conclusions:

• AFM is a crucial tool for biomechanical studies of tumor cells.
• This review consolidates current knowledge and identifies future research directions in AFM-based cancer cell analysis.