Braun Esther, Andany Santiago H, Kangül Mustafa, Asmari Navid S, McKinney John D, Fantner Georg E
School of Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Lausanne Switzerland
School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Lausanne Switzerland.
Nanoscale Adv. 2025 Feb 19;7(8):2290-2300. doi: 10.1039/d4na01053a. eCollection 2025 Apr 8.
Pathogenic microorganisms, such as pathogenic mycobacteria, pose a global health burden. Studying these organisms is crucial for gaining detailed knowledge about the pathogens and the diseases they cause. To handle pathogenic organisms, specific biosafety measures appropriate to the virulence of the organism must be fulfilled, most importantly ensuring that all manipulations of pathogenic material are performed within a confined environment. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful technique to study biological samples at nanometer-scale resolution, yielding also mechanical properties, all while maintaining physiological conditions. However, standard AFM sample holders do not meet stringent biosafety requirements since they do not constitute a confined system. AFM imaging relies on direct contact between the cantilever and the sample and is sensitive to mechanical interference, rendering conventional containment systems for handling infectious substances inapplicable. Here, we introduce a hermetically sealed AFM sample chamber that meets biosafety demands while satisfying the mechanical and optical constraints of correlated optical microscopy and AFM. We imaged various pathogenic mycobacteria to demonstrate the chamber's versatility and effectiveness in containing biohazardous materials. This sample chamber enables high-resolution, time-lapse correlated imaging and biomechanical characterization of pathogenic microorganisms . It broadens the scope of research with pathogenic microorganisms under safe and controlled conditions.
致病性微生物，如致病性分枝杆菌，构成了全球健康负担。研究这些生物体对于详细了解病原体及其引发的疾病至关重要。为了处理致病性生物体，必须采取与生物体毒力相适应的特定生物安全措施，最重要的是确保对致病物质的所有操作都在密闭环境中进行。原子力显微镜（AFM）是一种强大的技术，能够在纳米尺度分辨率下研究生物样品，同时还能得出机械性能，且全程保持生理条件。然而，标准的AFM样品架不符合严格的生物安全要求，因为它们不构成密闭系统。AFM成像依赖于悬臂与样品之间的直接接触，并且对机械干扰敏感，这使得用于处理传染性物质的传统 containment 系统不适用。在此，我们介绍一种气密密封的AFM样品室，它既满足生物安全要求，又满足相关光学显微镜和AFM的机械及光学限制。我们对各种致病性分枝杆菌进行了成像，以证明该样品室在容纳生物危害材料方面的多功能性和有效性。这个样品室能够对致病性微生物进行高分辨率、延时相关成像和生物力学表征。它拓宽了在安全可控条件下对致病性微生物的研究范围。
