BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE AFM - FROM SINGLE MOLECULES TO ORGANS

The application domains of the atomic force microscope have increased dramatically in recent years. We present a short review of the contrib utions of this microscope to biology. These are illustrated through th e study of different samples, starting with the imaging of single mole cules all the way up through the length scales, and ending with imagin g of tissues. So that nonbiologists can appreciate the significance of these studies, special attention has been paid to a description of th e samples and to point out the motivation of these studies and their i mplications for the field of medicine. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc .