The Study of AFM-Based Techniques to Measure Mechanical Properties of Biological Materials - An Example with Living Cells

• Main Authors: Meng-Chang Liu, 劉孟璋
• Other Authors: Szu-Chi Tien
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/36154004564513013977

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 機械工程學系碩博士班 === 97 === In the applications of atomic force microscopy, the tapping mode has better resolution than the other measurement modes, and the gentle tapping force on the sample surface can reduce the possibility of sample damage. The goal of this study is to develop a tapping mode method to estimate the distribution of mechanical properties of biological materials. By a single scan and based on a mechanical model of the probe driven by the non-conservative force from the intermittent contact force, the Young's modulus of the sample can be calculated from the phase signals and the surface energy due to the adhesion of cell to the probe. Two material samples, namely, polystyrene and PC-12 neuron-like cells are employed to verify the applicability of the method. The results revealed that orders of the magnitude of Young’s modulus of these two samples are consistent with the literature, which indicated that a new method for estimating the distribution of mechanical properties of biological materials is established.