What is it about?
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) uses a small tip to move across surfaces of samples to make an image. The tip can also be pushed in or pulled away from a surface to obtain information on stiffness or stickiness (adhesion). This book chapter describes how AFM works in some detail and then focuses on how the technique has been used in pharmaceutical research. Areas include tablet coating and dissolution, crystal growth and polymorphism, particles and fibres, nanomedicine, nanotoxicology, drug-protein and protein-protein interactions, live cells, bacterial biofilms and viruses. The selected studies are from 2011 to 2014, both from the literature and a few selected studies from the authors’ laboratories.
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Why is it important?
The paper provides a convenient summary to anyone interested in AFM and how it might be useful in the pharmaceutical science field. The extended introduction is perhaps particularly useful to those with little knowledge about the basics of the technique.
Perspectives
Links to free copies of the book chapter are included in the Resources Section (right-hand-side panel). The full citation is: Applications of AFM in pharmaceutical sciences, Chapter 20, Section 5 Imaging techniques D.A. Lamprou and J.R. Smith, Springer Controlled Release Society Book Series on Advances in Delivery Science and Technology: Analytical Techniques in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, T. Rades, A. Mullertz and Y. Perrie (Eds.) (2016), 649-674. ISBN 978-1-4939-4027-1. eBook: ISBN 978-1-4939-4029-5. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-4029-5_20
Dr James R Smith
University of Portsmouth
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Applications of AFM in Pharmaceutical Sciences, January 2016, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-4029-5_20.
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