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A look beyond topography: transient phenomena of Escherichia coli cell division captured with high-speed in-line force mapping

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Nov 24, 2024 version files 23.24 GB

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Abstract

Life on the nanoscale has been made accessible in recent decades by the development of fast and non-invasive techniques. High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is one such technique that sheds light on single protein dynamics. Extending HS-AFM to effortlessly incorporate mechanical property mapping while maintaining fast imaging speed allows us to look deeper than topography and reveal details of the nanoscale mechanisms that govern life. Here, we present high-speed in-line force mapping (HS-iFM), which enables the recording of mechanical properties and topography maps with high spatiotemporal resolution. Employing HS-iFM, a comprehensive study of the nanoscale mechanical properties of living Escherichia coli revealed localized stiffening and details during cell division, formation and diffusion of pores in the membrane, and the impact of depressurization of a cell. The frame time was as low as 15 seconds with a spatial resolution of 5.5 nm/pixel in topography and 22 nm/pixel in force maps, allowing the capture of transient phenomena on bacterial surfaces in striking detail.