Soft polymer-based cantilever probe for AFM nanoindentation of live mammalian cells in liquid

A soft Poly(Methyl-Meth-Acrylate)(PMMA)-polymerbased V-shaped cantilever probe is proposed for atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the first well-functioning, visually-flat prototype fabricated using a simple, but novel low-cost process and bio-compatible materials is demonstrated. With the prototype, for the first time, AFM nanoindentation was performed on live mammalian cells—human cervical adenocarcinoma cells in liquid. Results obtained using the prototype were compared to those obtained using a commercial Si 3 N 4 cantilever probe. Minimal or no versus severe deformation and/or distortion of the cell membrane was observed when using the prototype versus the Si 3 N 4 probe.