An atomic-force-microscopy study of the structure of surface layers of intact fibroblasts

• Published in: Technical physics letters Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 209 - 212
• Main Authors: Khalisov, M. M., Ankudinov, A. V., Penniyaynen, V. A., Nyapshaev, I. A., Kipenko, A. V., Timoshchuk, K. I., Podzorova, S. A., Krylov, B. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-02-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy; Classical and Continuum Physics; Fibroblasts; Microscopes; Microscopy; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Silicon dioxide; Stiffness; Substrates; Surface layers
• ISSN: 1063-7850; 1090-6533
• DOI: 10.1134/S1063785017020195

Intact embryonic fibroblasts on a collagen-treated substrate have been studied by atomic-force microscopy (AFM) using probes of two types: (i) standard probes with tip curvature radii of 2–10 nm and (ii) special probes with a calibrated 325-nm SiO
2
ball radius at the tip apex. It is established that, irrespective of probe type, the average maximum fibroblast height is on a level of ~1.7 μm and the average stiffness of the probe–cell contact amounts to ~16.5 mN/m. The obtained AFM data reveal a peculiarity of the fibroblast structure, whereby its external layers move as a rigid shell relative to the interior and can be pressed inside to a depth dependent on the load only.