The use of pulsed force mode atomic force microscopy to study the human mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

The atomic force microscopy (AFM) is increasingly applied to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) study. The AFM has been widely used for imaging hMSCs because of the combination of nanometer scale resolution and the ability to obtain time-dependent dynamic information about the cells under physiological conditions. In addition to high resolution visualization, elastic properties of hMSCs can be detected with the AFM. The pulsed force mode (PFM) is a non-resonant, intermediate contact mode of AFM. The AFM capabilities can be extended by using PFM, which enables to obtain information about relative difference in cell surface elasticity with nanometer-scale resolution. The PFM allows a quantitative mapping of hMSCs surface mechanical properties such as adhesion and stiffness, simultaneous with the imaging the cells surface topography in tapping mode.