Development of Integrated Atomic Force Microscopy and Fluorescence Microscopy for Single-Molecule Analysis in Living Cells

Atomic force microscope (AFM) and fluorescence microscope (FM) have been emerging as two most commonly used tools for single-molecule study in living cells by detecting mechanical and optical signals respectively, and they have good compatibility and complementarity in both instrumentations and applications. Combining these two microscopes, the integrated AFM-FM technique will possess their respective advantages, which enables the multi-parameter characterization of single biomolecule structures, dynamic behaviors and interactions.