ICSPI nGauge AFM-on-a-Chip

For Biology and Life Science

Use ICSPI's nGauge AFM-on-a-Chip for your biotechnology analysis challenges. Gain insights into the structure of biological materials with minimal sample preparation.

Explore the nanostructures of various biological organisms

  • Biopolymers such as collagen can be analysed using the nGauge AFM, providing additional information about their structure and arrangement.

  • Biological samples such as a butterfly wing are also amenable to analysis with the nGauge.

Your clear advantage

With the nGauge, you collect quantitative data of a sample without damaging it.

Due to the high magnification, nanostructures such as keratin fibres and corneocytes (skin cells) become clearly visible. With three-dimensional data and a resolution of <0.5nm in the vertical direction, the nGauge enables very detailed analysis of specific nanoscale features in biological samples.

What makes the nGauge even more unique is that it requires no laser alignment and delivers nanoscale data within 3 minutes of setup. With a very high throughput and fast screening, you save costs and time. Use the nGauge also as a complementary technique to other common microscopy techniques such as SEM or TEM.

Especially for biological samples, the nGauge has the great advantage that it works in the so-called tapping mode, which means that the AFM tip is only intermittently in contact with the sample and sample preparation is minimal.

This is the difference to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), where the samples are completely dehydrated and coated with metal (typically sputtered gold or platinum). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) also usually requires the samples to be cut with a microtome and thus destroyed.