Atomic Force Microscopes And Treating … Baldness?

By John Oncea, Editor

Atomic force microscopes (AFMs), first developed in the mid-1980s by Gerd Binig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber, gather information by “feeling” the surface with a mechanical probe. Today, AFM serves as a reliable and high-precision measurement tool for analyzing surfaces.

AFM has become an essential instrument in cutting-edge science and technology labs worldwide with the ability to measure the topography, electrical, magnetic, chemical, and optical properties of a sample surface accurately and non-destructively. It can function in air, liquids, or ultrahigh vacuum, providing researchers with unparalleled capabilities.

Joe Black writes the development of AFM was spurred to overcome a fundamental shortcoming of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) – it can only image conductive or semiconductor surfaces. Black further notes, “Imaging is not the only function that AFM can provide, the system also can be used for the measurement of many other properties, such as nanomechanical properties, electrical properties, magnetic properties, and chemical/biological properties.”

An atomic force microscope offers a three-dimensional surface profile of a sample, unlike an electron microscope which only provides a two-dimensional projection or image. Additionally, samples observed through AFM don't need any special treatments, like metal or carbon coatings, which could potentially cause irreversible damage to the sample.

“While electron microscopes require an expensive vacuum environment to function properly, most AFM modes work flawlessly in ambient air or even liquid environments,” Black writes. “This makes it possible to study biological macromolecules and even living organisms.”

Atomic force microscopy has the potential to offer superior resolution compared to scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This technique has demonstrated true atomic resolution in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and even in liquid environments. High-resolution AFM can achieve a resolution that is comparable to scanning tunneling microscopes and transmission electron microscopes.

Now Hair This

Northwestern University (go Wildcats!) researchers recently announced they may have found a potential breakthrough in baldness and hair growth. “Just as people’s joints can get stiff as they age and make it harder for them to move around, hair follicle stem cells also get stiff, making it harder for them to grow hair. But if the hair follicle’s stem cells are softened, they are more likely to produce hair.”

“Researchers say they found a way to grow hair – in mice, at least – by softening the stem cells through boosting production of a tiny RNA, miR-205, particle that relaxes the hardness of the cells,” reports MedicalNewsToday. “When the scientists genetically manipulated the stem cells to produce more miR-205, they said the result was hair growth in mice both young and old.”

“They started to grow hair in 10 days,” said corresponding author Rui Yi, the Paul E. Steiner Research Professor of Pathology and professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “These are not new stem cells being generated. We are stimulating the existing stem cells to grow hair. A lot of times we still have stem cells, but they may not be able to generate the hair.

“Our study demonstrates the possibility of stimulating hair growth by regulating cell mechanics. Because of the potential to deliver microRNA by nanoparticles directly into the skin, next we will test whether topically delivered miR-205 can stimulate hair growth first in mice. If successful, we will design experiments to test whether this microRNA can promote hair growth potentially in humans.”

The study was conducted on genetically engineered mouse models, with the use of advanced microscopy tools like atomic force microscopy to measure stiffness and two-photon microscopy to track cell behaviors in live animals.