原子力显微镜在生命科学研究中的应用

原子力显微镜(AFM)是目前最新的生物成像操纵技术之一，制样简单，可以在多种环境条件下原子分辨率三维成像以及进行生物分子之间力的测定及操纵调控。目前国际上AFM主要应用于组织、细胞微生物、生物大分子纳米水平形态结构功能研究及生物单分子相互作用、生物过程操纵调控等研究领域。虽然存在着针尖碳纳米管衍化、柔软生物样品硬化、结果解释待改进等局限性，但AFM必将成为生命科学研究的重要手段。

Application of atomic force microscope in life science research]

OBJECTIVE: Atomic force microscope (AFM) is one of the most recent imaging and manipulation techniques in biological science. Among its various merits, AFM typically enables simple sample preparation, acquisition of three-dimensional images to identify single atoms under different conditions, detection of the interactive forces between two single biomolecules and their manipulation. AFM is currently applied in the research of the structure and function, at the nanometric scale, of various tissues, cells, microbes and biomolecules, and studies of the interaction between two biomolecules as well as the manipulation of some biological processes. AFM possesses the potential to become an important instrument in life science research, in spite of its current limits that require improvements such as in carbon nanotube tip, rigidity of soft biological samples and result interpretation.