Atomic Force Microscopy: An Enabling Nanotechnology for Diabetes Research

Atomic force microscopy (AFM), a scanning probe microscopy-based technique with atomic resolution and piconewton force sensitivity, has been an enabling tool for nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology since its invention in 1986. In AFM, a nanometer-sized probe tip attached to the end of a microfabricated cantilever is scanned near or in contact with a surface in order to construct an image and to determine various properties of the surface by measuring the interaction force between the tip and the surface. AFM can be operated in air and liquid and can be applied to soft biological samples in physiological environments. Thus it has vast applications in the developing field of nanomedicine. Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by abnormally high blood glucose resulting from insulin resistance and/or impaired or absent insulin secretion, and the field of nanomedicine can contribute in terms of understanding the development and progression of the disease and also in designing nanotherapies to treat the disease. In this chapter, we discuss the role of AFM in understanding and designing therapies for diabetes and the impact of AFM on diabetes research, from the nano- to the microscale, and from single molecules to macromolecular assemblies and individual cells. In particular, the role of AFM in understanding pathophysiological changes and the pathology of the disease, and the role of AFM in the treatment of diabetes are presented.