Application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study bacterial biofilms.

Author: Shanshan YANG ¹ ; Qiaoyun HUANG ¹ ; Peng CAI ¹
Author Information

1. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resource and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); bacterial biofilms; interaction forces; mechanical properties; ultra-morphology
From: Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2017;33(9):1399-1410
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Because of the nanometre resolution, piconewton force sensitivity, label-free technique and the ability to operate in liquid environments, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a powerful tool to explore the biofilm development processes. AFM provides three-dimensional topography and structural details of biofilm surfaces under in-situ conditions. It also helps to generate key information on the mechanical properties of biofilm surfaces, such as elasticity and stickiness. Additionally, single-molecule and single-cell force spectroscopies can be applied to measure the strength of adhesion, attraction, and repulsion forces between cell-solid and cell-cell surfaces. This paper outlined the basic principle of AFM technique and introduced recent advances in the application of AFM for the investigation of ultra-morphological, mechanical and interactive properties of biofilms. Furthermore, the existing problems and future prospects were discussed.