Professor Toshio Ando: Publication of an insightful reference book on high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) for in situ biological applications

Kanazawa University research: Publication of an insightful reference book on high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) for in situ biological applications 

Pioneering biophysicist Professor Toshio Ando of the NanoLSI publishes his new book on high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) for directly monitoring the dynamics of biomolecules. The book offers easy to understand descriptions of the basic technology and in situ biological applications of liquid HS-AFM. The book is ideal for students from multidisciplinary backgrounds interested in accelerating their research on high speed, in situ monitoring of biomolecules. 

NanoLSI Podcast where Professor Ando describes the background to the publication of the book and his thoughts about the future of HS-AFM.

Link to Nano LSI Podcast

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/announcements/nanolsipodcast/

Professor Toshio Ando is internationally recognized as the pioneer of high speed atomic force microscopy for biological applications. “I first became aware of atomic force microscopy in the mid-eighties after I returned to Japan following several years in the USA,” says Ando. “I had just moved to Kanazawa University and was looking for new paths to explore. I was interested in directly observing the dynamics of proteins. This is when I decided to pursue research on the development of high speed liquid AFM (HS-AFM). Now, more than 30 years later, I want to share my experiences and insights into the technology and applications of HS-AFM. This book is my way of sharing my knowledge about this subject. It is the first book on this topic and hopefully it will inspire the development of the next generation of scanning probe microscopes for biology.” 

Professor Ando describes how he started his research on HS-AFM

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/background-to-research-on-hs-afm.mp3

Professor Ando describes why he decided to write this book

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/writing-the-book.mp3

The future of high speed AFM

Professor Ando shares his views about the future of HS-AFM

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/evolution-of-hs-afm.mp3

Ando envisages continuous evolution in both the performance and applications of HS-AFM. “The scanning speed is an area of research being addressed by many groups globally,” says Ando. “In my group we are developing new methods, that is system operation procedures, and have achieved 40 frames per second (fps). Conventional systems enable around 10 fps. I expect advances in devices used for imaging will enable image rates of 100 fps within 3 to 4 years. So this area of research is still evolving.” 

Ando also foresees that many proteins that have been “untouched” to-date will be imaged by high performance HS-AFM systems. “I expect many more users of HS-AFM in the future,” says Ando. 

About the book 

Professor Ando describes the contents of the book 

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/audience-and-contents.mp3

‘High Speed Atomic Force Microscopy in Biology” is published by Springer and is available as an eBook or hard cover [1]. The book consists of 18 chapters and more than 300 pages that include practical hints about the preparation of cantilever

NanoLSI Podcast website