Atomic force microscope

• Subject Area: Materials Science
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547890495

At the Chair for Bioinspired Materials and Biosensor Technologies – the controlled synthesis of bioinspired materials with rationally designed micro/nanostructures and their integration onto different surfaces – are being researched for biosensing, imaging, therapy development, selective filtration and separation, and intelligent packaging systems. Particularly, the chair has been working with synthetic and natural receptors, molecularly imprinted polymers, hydrogels, nanofibers, smart inorganic nanomaterials, 2D nanomaterials. In our ongoing and upcoming projects, we also plan to explore the use of live cells, tissues, and gene delivery. To characterize these materials comprehensively at the atomic level and ensure their suitability for intended applications, high-resolution and advanced bioscience-based atomic force microscopic (BioAFM) techniques are indispensable. Before relocating to CAU, our working group routinely employed BioAFM in all research projects. However, currently, we only have access to a simple fluorescence microscope for characterization purposes at the Faculty of Engineering of CAU. This microscope fails to provide both qualitative and quantitative information on several critical material properties including size, morphology, surface texture, molecular interactions, elasticity, and roughness. To facilitate successful research outcomes, the acquisition of a modern, high-resolution AFM tailored for bioscience and materials science is urgently needed. BioAFM has become increasingly essential in biological and biomedical studies due to its very high resolution and the ability to conduct experiments with live cells under physiologically relevant and ambient conditions, even in liquid environments. BioAFM enables further exploration in areas such as cell mechanics and adhesion, mechanobiology, cell-cell and cell-surface interactions, cell dynamics, and cell morphology. Additionally, it offers nanometer-resolution surface mapping for various mechanical and electrical properties, such as elasticity, stiffness, conductivity, and surface potential.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Rasterkraftmikroskop
• Instrumentation Group: 5091 Rasterkraft-Mikroskope
• Applicant Institution: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
• Leader: Professorin Dr. Zeynep Altintas