A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical Indentations
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for characterizing biological materials at the nanoscale utilizing the AFM nanoindentation method. When testing biological materials, spherical indenters are typically employed to reduce the possibility of damaging the sample. The accuracy of determin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/9/1716 |
| _version_ | 1797578825007104000 |
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| author | Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris Andreas Stylianou Georgios Chliveros Anna Malamou |
| author_facet | Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris Andreas Stylianou Georgios Chliveros Anna Malamou |
| author_sort | Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for characterizing biological materials at the nanoscale utilizing the AFM nanoindentation method. When testing biological materials, spherical indenters are typically employed to reduce the possibility of damaging the sample. The accuracy of determining Young’s modulus depends, among other factors, on the calibration of the indenter, i.e., the determination of the tip radius. This paper demonstrates that the tip radius can be approximately calculated using a single force–indentation curve on an unknown, soft sample without performing any additional experimental calibration process. The proposed method is based on plotting a tangent line on the force indentation curve at the maximum indentation depth. Subsequently, using equations that relate the applied force, maximum indentation depth, and the tip radius, the calculation of the tip radius becomes trivial. It is significant to note that the method requires only a single force–indentation curve and does not necessitate knowledge of the sample’s Young’s modulus. Consequently, the determination of both the sample’s Young’s modulus and the tip radius can be performed simultaneously. Thus, the experimental effort is significantly reduced. The method was tested on 80 force–indentation curves obtained on an agarose gel, and the results were accurate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:27:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a03b9c9ad27f4100bf7b424db385616a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:27:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-a03b9c9ad27f4100bf7b424db385616a2023-11-19T11:59:38ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2023-08-01149171610.3390/mi14091716A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical IndentationsStylianos Vasileios Kontomaris0Andreas Stylianou1Georgios Chliveros2Anna Malamou3Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Metropolitan College, 15125 Athens, GreeceSchool of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, CyprusFaculty of Engineering and Architecture, Metropolitan College, 15125 Athens, GreeceIndependent Power Transmission Operator S.A. (IPTO), 10443 Athens, GreeceAtomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for characterizing biological materials at the nanoscale utilizing the AFM nanoindentation method. When testing biological materials, spherical indenters are typically employed to reduce the possibility of damaging the sample. The accuracy of determining Young’s modulus depends, among other factors, on the calibration of the indenter, i.e., the determination of the tip radius. This paper demonstrates that the tip radius can be approximately calculated using a single force–indentation curve on an unknown, soft sample without performing any additional experimental calibration process. The proposed method is based on plotting a tangent line on the force indentation curve at the maximum indentation depth. Subsequently, using equations that relate the applied force, maximum indentation depth, and the tip radius, the calculation of the tip radius becomes trivial. It is significant to note that the method requires only a single force–indentation curve and does not necessitate knowledge of the sample’s Young’s modulus. Consequently, the determination of both the sample’s Young’s modulus and the tip radius can be performed simultaneously. Thus, the experimental effort is significantly reduced. The method was tested on 80 force–indentation curves obtained on an agarose gel, and the results were accurate.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/9/1716calibration of spherical indentersmechanical propertiesbiological materialsdata processingAFM gratingintelligent AFM systems |
| spellingShingle | Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris Andreas Stylianou Georgios Chliveros Anna Malamou A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical Indentations Micromachines calibration of spherical indenters mechanical properties biological materials data processing AFM grating intelligent AFM systems |
| title | A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical Indentations |
| title_full | A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical Indentations |
| title_fullStr | A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical Indentations |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical Indentations |
| title_short | A New Elementary Method for Determining the Tip Radius and Young’s Modulus in AFM Spherical Indentations |
| title_sort | new elementary method for determining the tip radius and young s modulus in afm spherical indentations |
| topic | calibration of spherical indenters mechanical properties biological materials data processing AFM grating intelligent AFM systems |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/9/1716 |
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