Electromechanical Imaging of Biological Systems with Sub-10 nm Resolution

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates sub-10 nm resolution electromechanical imaging of biological tissues using piezoresponse force microscopy, revealing detailed structures and piezoelectric properties in dentin and enamel.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of piezoresponse force microscopy for high-resolution imaging of biological systems, enabling visualization of collagen fibrils and piezoelectric domains.

Findings

Visualization of collagen fibril shape in enamel

Measurement of local hysteresis loops in tissues

Determination of piezoelectric domain sizes in dentin

Abstract

Electromechanical imaging of tooth dentin and enamel has been performed with sub-10 nm resolution using piezoresponse force microscopy. Characteristic piezoelectric domain size and local protein fiber ordering in dentin have been determined. The shape of a single collagen fibril in enamel is visualized in real space and local hysteresis loops are measured. Because of the ubiquitous presence of piezoelectricity in biological systems, this approach is expected to find broad application in high-resolution studies of a wide range of biomaterials.