Increased plasticity of the stiffness of melanoma cells correlates with their acquisition of metastatic properties.

Unlabelled: The stiffness of tumor cells varies during cancer progression. In particular, metastatic carcinoma cells analyzed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) appear softer than non-invasive and normal cells. Here we examined by AFM how the stiffness of melanoma cells varies during progression from non-invasive Radial Growth Phase (RGP) to invasive Vertical Growth Phase (VGP) and to metastatic tumors.

Parallel AFM imaging and force spectroscopy using two-dimensional probe arrays for applications in cell biology.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations of living cells provide new information in both biology and medicine. However, slow cell dynamics and the need for statistically significant sample sizes mean that data collection can be an extremely lengthy process. We address this problem by parallelizing AFM experiments using a two-dimensional cantilever array, instead of a single cantilever.

Attovial-based antibody nanoarrays.

Antibody array-based technology is a powerful emerging tool in proteomics, but to enable global proteome analysis, antibody array layouts with even higher density has to be developed. To this end, we have further developed the first generation of a nanoarray platform, based on attoliter-sized vials, attovials, which we have characterized and used for the detection of complement factor C1q in human serum samples. Finally, we demonstrated proof-of-concept for individual functionalization of the attovials with a recombinant antibody.

FluidFM: combining atomic force microscopy and nanofluidics in a universal liquid delivery system for single cell applications and beyond.

We describe the fluidFM, an atomic force microscope (AFM) based on hollow cantilevers for local liquid dispensing and stimulation of single living cells under physiological conditions. A nanofluidic channel in the cantilever allows soluble molecules to be dispensed through a submicrometer aperture in the AFM tip. The sensitive AFM force feedback allows controlled approach of the tip to a sample for extremely local modification of surfaces in liquid environments.