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Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a type of scanning probe microscopy that can analyze topographic details of various specimens like ceramics, glass, polymers, and biological samples. AFM offers over 1000 times more resolution than the optical imaging system. Images generated from AFM are three-dimensional surface profiles, offering an advantage over the flat, two-dimensional images from other imaging techniques.
The AFM Probe
The probe is regarded as the heart of any AFM setup and comprises the...

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Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Measuring the Mechanical Properties of Living Cells Using Atomic Force Microscopy

Measuring the Mechanical Properties of Living Cells Using Atomic Force Microscopy

Published on: June 27, 2013

Frequency-dependent cellular microrheology with pyramidal atomic force microscopy probes.

Erika A Ding¹, Sanjay Kumar²

¹Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California.

Biophysical Journal

|October 31, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can now measure cell viscoelasticity using standard probes. This new method simplifies dynamic mechanical property analysis for biological research.

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Area of Science:

Biophysics
Cell Biology
Materials Science

Background:

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) commonly measures cell elastic properties using force-indentation curves.
Cells exhibit time-dependent stress relaxation and frequency-dependent mechanical properties crucial for biological functions.
Current AFM microrheology often requires specialized, costly probes.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a framework for using standard blunt pyramidal AFM probes for oscillatory microrheology.
To enable accessible measurement of dynamic mechanical properties of living cells.
To validate a new method for extracting frequency-dependent rheological properties.

Main Methods:

Derivation of expressions to extract rheological moduli from AFM data.
Exploration of experimental calibration and parameter optimization for oscillatory microrheology.
Validation using agarose hydrogel standards and mechanical measurements on cultured cells.

Main Results:

A formalism enabling standard AFM probes for oscillatory microrheology was developed.
The method was validated using hydrogel standards.
Rheological changes in cells treated with cytoskeletal inhibitors were successfully measured.

Conclusions:

Standard AFM probes can be effectively utilized for oscillatory microrheology.
This approach simplifies the study of dynamic cell mechanics.
The method provides insights into the contributions of cytoskeletal networks to cell rheology.