Applications of AFM articles from across Nature Portfolio

Here the authors report the delivery of neurotransmitter-conjugated KCC2 agonist using a reactive oxygen species–responsive polymer nanoparticle that can cross the damaged blood–spinal cord barrier and significantly increase recovery after spinal cord injury in vivo.

Adopting a round cell morphology before mitosis is crucial. Here, the authors show that in mitosis integrins binding to ligands do not engage the actomyosin cortex, which curbs cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, though β1 integrins are rewired to synergize with cadherins in mitotic cell-cell adhesion.

Live-seq, a single-cell transcriptome profiling approach that preserves cell viability during RNA extraction using fluidic force microscopy, can address a range of biological questions by transforming scRNA-seq from an end-point to a temporal analysis approach.

Single-cell force spectroscopy reveals rapid, biphasic integrin activation and reinforcement of cell–matrix bonds during the initial steps of fibroblast adhesion.

DNA origami nanostructures were utilized to replicate a seed pattern that resulted in the growth of populations of nanostructures. Exponential growth could be controlled by environmental conditions depending on the preferential requirements of each population.

Isoelectric points of small samples of proteins can now be measured using atomic force microscopy and substrates with a known charge.

The ambiguous barrier mechanism of nuclear pore complexes has now been resolved through structural analysis with high-speed atomic force microscopy.

Nanomechanical sensors can now detect femtomolar concentrations of analytes within minutes without the need to passivate the underlying cantilever surface.

The response of bacteria to antibiotics can be quickly assessed by monitoring the fluctuations of cantilevers coated with the bacteria.