In Situ Sensing and Manipulation in Nano Bio Systems

The goal of this article is to review the state-of-art techniques for characterizing specific single receptor using the functionalized AFM (atomic force microscopy) tip and introduce the progress of in situ probing biomolecules as well as the possibility of single cell surgery by AFM. An example of studying the angiotensin II type 1 (ATI) receptors expressed in sensory neuronal cells by AFM with a functionalized tip is given. Perspectives for identifying and characterizing specific individual membrane proteins using AFM in living cells are provided