[Preparation and biological application of carbon nanotube atomic force microscope probe].

The atomic force microscope (AFM) with an atomic resolution is a powerful tool for biological structure. The probe is an important part that determines the resolution of AFM. Carbon nanotube is becoming an ideal AFM probe due to its unique structure physical and chemical properties. Carbon nanotube AFM probes can be made by manual assembly or chemical vapor deposition. Several proteins, nucleic acids and cells have been investigated with carbon nanotube probes. Not only the high-resolution images but also the determination of specific DNA sequence and haplotype were acquired. Carbon nanotube AFM probe will increasingly play an important role in biological studies.