Atomic Force Microscopy in Biomedical Research Methods and Protocols
With its ability to explore the surface of the sample by means of a local scanning probe and its use of dedicated software allows to be visualize results, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has revolutionized the study of the smallest aspects of life. At
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Molecular Biology™
Series Editor John M. Walker School of Life Sciences University of Hertfordshire Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB, UK
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Atomic Force Microscopy in Biomedical Research Methods and Protocols
Edited by
Pier Carlo Braga Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Davide Ricci Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy and Department of Biophysical Electronic Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Editors Pier Carlo Braga Department of Pharmacology School of Medicine University of Milan Milan, Italy [email protected]
Davide Ricci Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, Italian Institute of Technology Genoa, Italy and Department of Biophysical Electronic Engineering University of Genoa Genoa, Italy [email protected]
ISSN 1064-3745 e-ISSN 1940-6029 ISBN 978-1-61779-104-8 e-ISBN 978-1-61779-105-5 DOI 10.1007/978-1-61779-105-5 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2011926794 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Humana Press, c/o Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Humana Press is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface The invention and development of the optical microscope in the seventeenth century revealed the presence of a previously unseen and unimaginable world within and around us. Our lives would not be what they are today if optical microscopy had never existed or if it had not helped us to understand better what we are, how we function, and how we can improve our condition – first in the fields of biology and medicine, and then in many other fields. Another great step was made with the introduction of transmission and scanning electron microscopy in the 1930s, which was initially integrated with optical microscopy but subsequently developed its own identity and technology and opened up new horizons in human knowledge. Starting in 1986, further technological advances led to the development of atomic force microscopy (AFM), which is completely different from its predecessors: instead of being based on lenses, photons, and electrons, it directly explores the surface of the sample by means of a local scanning prob
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