Eur. Phys. J. E (2015) 38: 140
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2015-15140-2

Tips and Tricks

A detailed guideline for the fabrication of single bacterial probes used for atomic force spectroscopy

¹ Experimental Physics, Campus E2 9, Saarland University, D-66123, Saarbrücken, Germany
² Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Saarland University, D-66421, Homburg/Saar, Germany

^* e-mail: k.jacobs@physik.uni-saarland.de

Received: 3 July 2015
Accepted: 29 September 2015
Published online: 28 December 2015

Abstract

The atomic force microscope (AFM) evolved as a standard device in modern microbiological research. However, its capability as a sophisticated force sensor is not used to its full capacity. The AFM turns into a unique tool for quantitative adhesion research in bacteriology by using “bacterial probes”. Thereby, bacterial probes are AFM cantilevers that provide a single bacterium or a cluster of bacteria as the contact-forming object. We present a step-by-step protocol for preparing bacterial probes, performing force spectroscopy experiments and processing force spectroscopy data. Additionally, we provide a general insight into the field of bacterial cell force spectroscopy.