I. Casuso, PH. Puech and F. Rico

We use and develop Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) methods in biology.

• In imaging mode, the AFM cantilever acts as a finger to delicately delineate the topology of the surface of a sample, at nm resolution in the 3 directions of space, under physiological conditions.We use it to obtain high resolution images of proteins at work and of cells adhered to smart substrates.
• In force mode, the cantilever deflection allows the measure of the forces that are exerted on its extremity, as low as <10 pN, making the AFM a very well suited techniques for measuring the molecular interactions at the single molecule scale, in particular in the case of a ligand/receptor interaction, in Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy mode. It can also be extended to the use with living cells, in Single Cell Force Spectroscopy mode.

In LAI, we possess the expertise in “classical” Bio-AFM and the most recent and advanced techniques of High Speed AFM (HS-AFM) (see dedicated pages).