High resolution atomic force microscopy imaging of molecular self assembly in liquids using thermal drift corrected cantilevers

Abstract

We report on high resolution imaging of self assembled monolayers using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in aqueous environment using thermal drift corrected cantilevers. Thermal drift of the AFM probes limit the possibilities of experiments that are designed to resolve single macromolecule dynamics in aqueous conditions. We present a method of minimizing the thermal drift of the AFM cantilevers under aqueous conditions, thus paving way for getting high resolution images of molecular self assembly. This methodology, which is based on a very high resolution silicon probe attached to silicon cantilever, low-force touch due to tapping mode at each pixel in the AFM field, enables the high resolution nondestructive imaging with minimal thermal drift.