Kontomaris Stylianos Vasileios, Stylianou Andreas, Georgakopoulos Anastasios, Malamou Anna
BioNanoTec Ltd., 2043 Nicosia, Cyprus.
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Metropolitan College, 15125 Athens, Greece.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2023 Jan 18;13(3):395. doi: 10.3390/nano13030395.
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool enabling the mechanical characterization of biological materials at the nanoscale. Since biological materials are highly heterogeneous, their mechanical characterization is still considered to be a challenging procedure. In this paper, a new approach that leads to a 3-dimensional (3D) nanomechanical characterization is presented based on the average Young's modulus and the AFM indentation method. The proposed method can contribute to the clarification of the variability of the mechanical properties of biological samples in the 3-dimensional space (variability at the x-y plane and depth-dependent behavior). The method was applied to agarose gels, fibroblasts, and breast cancer cells. Moreover, new mathematical methods towards a quantitative mechanical characterization are also proposed. The presented approach is a step forward to a more accurate and complete characterization of biological materials and could contribute to an accurate user-independent diagnosis of various diseases such as cancer in the future.
原子力显微镜（AFM）是一种强大的工具，能够在纳米尺度上对生物材料进行力学表征。由于生物材料具有高度的异质性，其力学表征仍然被认为是一个具有挑战性的过程。本文基于平均杨氏模量和AFM压痕法，提出了一种实现三维（3D）纳米力学表征的新方法。所提出的方法有助于阐明生物样品在三维空间中力学性能的变异性（x-y平面上的变异性和深度依赖性行为）。该方法应用于琼脂糖凝胶、成纤维细胞和乳腺癌细胞。此外，还提出了用于定量力学表征的新数学方法。所提出的方法朝着更准确、更完整地表征生物材料迈出了一步，并且未来可能有助于对各种疾病（如癌症）进行准确的、与用户无关的诊断。
