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 Si₃N₄ cantilever probe. Minimal or no versus severe deformation and/or distortion of the cell membrane was observed when using the prototype versus the Si₃N₄ probe.