Speakers
Description
The atomic force microscope (AFM) is gaining progressive attention for its capability to provide maps of biophysical properties of adhered micro- and nanostructures at high spatial resolution (in the nanometre range), and in live conditions (buffers, cell media). In the biomedical community, these properties are much less explored than other type of characterization based on genetics and biochemistry, and they can be used to characterize physiological and pathological states, for early detection of diseases and to assess the in vivo behaviour of nanomaterials for drug delivery. In our lab, we aim at making the AFM as an integral part of the research in nanomedicine, increasing its throughput and introducing a user-friendly layout. Here we show some of the obtained results, from cell and tissue phenotyping (macrophages, cancer cell lines, primary fibroblasts, tissue sections), to the functional characterization of dynamically reconfigurable nanoparticles for drug delivery.
