The facility is equipped with advanced Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM) and a nanoindenter designed to meet the needs of researchers in the field of mechanobiology and beyond. Our facility provides a wide range of analyses from the mechanical properties of cells to the nanoscale topography of biomaterials.
📍The AFM and nanoindentation services are provided by Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste laboratories in Area Science Park.
Capture detailed topographical maps of biological samples at the nanometer scale with our AFM. Ideal for studying cell membranes, protein complexes, and other biomolecular structures, also used for live cell imaging to observe and analyze the behavior and dynamics of live cells under physiological conditions without the need for staining or fixing.
Finds applications in cell biology, biomaterials research, and nanotechnology.
Quantify the mechanical properties of cells, tissues, and biomaterials, including stiffness, elasticity, and adhesion forces. Mechanobiology analysis explores how biological specimens sense and respond to mechanical cues and how mechanics guide their function, physiology, and disease.
It offers combined topographic and mechanical imaging to simultaneously gather detailed morphological and mechanical data of samples.
This analysis finds applications in cancer research, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine, as it is particularly valuable for screening, identifying prognostic markers of potentially pathogenic regions, and therapy purposes.
Controlling shallow indentation depth, load, and effective contact volume, AFM-based nanoindentation has application in surface height topology mapping and 3D high-resolution imaging.
It is commonly used to analyse the physical properties of soft solids, such as biological samples (e.g. tissues, spheroids, organoids), biocompatible scaffolds (e.g. polymers, hydrogels) and bioimprinted materials.
The instrumentation employed for nanoindentation analysis is a Chiaro Nanoindenter.
Explore the interactions at the nano-bio interface delving into the molecular dynamics and mechanical properties of biomolecules and cells in contact with engineered nanostructures, facilitating advancements in diagnostics, therapeutics, and biomaterials development.