Scanning probe microscopy of soft matter: Recent progress

This special issue of European Polymer Journal is devoted to contributions presented at the International Conference on Scanning Probe Microscopy on Soft and Polymeric Materials 2012, SPM on SPM 2012, which took place between September 23rd and 26th 2012 in Rolduc Abbey in Kerkrade (The Netherlands). Following the long standing but temporarily interrupted tradition of dedicated topical scanning probe microscopy conferences with a clear focus on polymers in Santa Barbara (California, USA) (1999), Weingarten (Germany) (2001) and Kerkrade (2003), this meeting aimed at bringing together researchers from academia as well as industrial participants from all continents to discuss and share the most recent developments in the application of Scanning Probe Microscopy on Soft and Polymeric Materials