Adhesion force microscopy is sensitive to the charge distribution at the surface of single collagen fibrils.

Collagen fibrils are a key component of the extracellular matrix of mammalian tissues where they serve as structural elements and as a ligand for receptor-mediated signaling. As collagen molecules assemble into fibrils, or , they acquire a modulation of their molecular and electron densities called the D-band, with a 67 nm spacing, that can be visualized by cryo-electron microscopy. The D-band is composed of a gap region missing one-fifth of the molecules in the cross-section compared to the overlap region.