FURI | Fall 2023

Deconvolution of the Mechanical Effects in Atomic Force Microscopy Material Characterization of Living Cells

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been extensively used to determine the mechanical properties of materials ranging from ceramics to living soft tissue. There is an increasing use of AFM for the characterization of biological structures, which has resulted in new diagnostic techniques. However, the effects of cell size, substrate and inclusion presence on AFM measurements have not been exhaustively investigated. This study aims to understand these effects through Finite Element Analysis of a size varying cell resting on a glass substrate.