Atomic force microscopy of silica nanoparticles and carbon nanohorns in macrophages and red blood cells

L. Tetard, A. Passian, R. H. Farahi, T. Thundat

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

The emerging interest in understanding the interactions of nanomaterial with biological systems necessitates imaging tools that capture the spatial and temporal distributions and attributes of the resulting nano-bio amalgam. Studies targeting organ specific response and/or nanoparticle-specific system toxicity would be profoundly benefited from tools that would allow imaging and tracking of in-vivo or in-vitro processes and particle-fate studies. Recently we demonstrated that mode synthesizing atomic force microscopy (MSAFM) can provide subsurface nanoscale information on the mechanical properties of materials at the nanoscale. However, the underlying mechanism of this imaging methodology is currently subject to theoretical and experimental investigation. In this paper we present further analysis by investigating tip-sample excitation forces associated with nanomechanical image formation. Images and force curves acquired under various operational frequencies and amplitudes are presented. We examine samples of mouse cells, where buried distributions of single-walled carbon nanohorns and silica nanoparticles are visualized.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)586-591
Number of pages6
JournalUltramicroscopy
Volume110
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2010

Keywords

  • Atomic force microscopy
  • Cells
  • Force curves
  • Mode synthesizing atomic force microscopy
  • Nanomechanics
  • Nanoparticles
  • Raman spectroscopy

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