Imaging and NanoManipulation with AFM of bacterial samples in air and liquid environment

Abstract

Since the innovator speech of Nobel laureate Richard Feynman in the early 1959, the progress of nanotechnology has been a succession of inventions and developments. One of those is the invention in 1986 of the Atomic Force Microscope. The biological applications of AFM microscopy have had a bigger impact. For this that the mayor part of my work is dedicated to imaging/nanomanipulating bacterial samples with two mayor results: It was achieved imaging and mechanical characterization of biofilms in air. It was possible to image in liquid environment bacterial samples and biofilm connections. Instead in the field of nanomanipulations, an achievement was using the AFM as a nanomanipulating tool, able to modify the sample surface. The idea is using tip, in the lithography section for moving, grasping breaking bacteria membranes while forces exerted were calculated during manipulation. In conclusions we propose in which direction it should continue the study of manipulating, and is proposed another way in calibrating lateral forces.