Scanning Probe Microscopy of Biomaterials and Nanoscale Biomechanics

126 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2010.Since its invention, operation of AFM in liquid for imaging soft biomaterials has been hindered by a low quality factor caused by large drag forces on the cantilever. Utilizing the small dimensions of a nanoneedle, the new method presented in this dissertation resolves the complications by keeping the cantilever outside of the liquid and using a nanoneedle attached to the AFM probe as the sensing element in liquid. It was shown that this method in liquid maintained the harmonic dynamic characteristics of the cantilever similar to that in air and had an intrinsic high quality factor. The performance of the new method is demonstrated through imaging single collagen fibrils in liquid as well as the extremely soft membrane of living cells under physiological conditions.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD