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Related Concept Videos

Atomic Force Microscopy01:08

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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Mapping Nanoscale Heterogeneity in Soft Materials With Modified Tapping-Mode AFM.

Arindam Phani1, Eric Finot2, Seonghwan Kim1

  • 1Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Small Methods
|July 6, 2026
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a modified tapping mode for atomic force microscopy (AFM) that enhances sensitivity to local mechanical properties in soft materials. The new method reveals finer internal heterogeneity and dissipation-linked features in biological samples like insulin aggregates.

Keywords:
energy dissipation imaginglocal mechanical heterogeneitynanoscale heterogeneitysoft biological materialstapping mode AFM

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Area of Science:

  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Nanotechnology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in tapping mode is a standard technique for imaging soft materials with minimal damage.
  • However, its brief tip-sample contact limits sensitivity to local mechanical responses, hindering detailed analysis of material properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and demonstrate a modified tapping regime for AFM that enhances the detection of local mechanical properties in soft materials.
  • To improve the imaging of complex soft matter systems by revealing features not discernible with conventional tapping mode.

Main Methods:

  • Introduction of a modified tapping regime where the AFM tip maintains weak continuous contact during scanning.
  • Application of this method to image soft insulin aggregates, a representative biological soft-matter system.
  • Utilizing a sub-kBT noise-equivalent baseline for enhanced sensitivity to dissipation-linked features.

Main Results:

  • The modified tapping regime successfully detected local deformation, relaxation, and energy dissipation missed by conventional tapping.
  • Finer internal heterogeneity and localized nanodomain-scale dissipation-linked features were revealed in soft insulin aggregates.
  • Improved phase and reconstructed energy-dissipation contrast enabled nanoscale mapping of mechanical heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

  • The enhanced tapping mode significantly improves the ability to map mechanical heterogeneity at the nanoscale in soft materials.
  • This method preserves the topographic information while providing critical insights into local mechanical response variations.
  • The technique is valuable for studying soft and biological interfaces where morphology alone is insufficient to capture local response dynamics.