抄録
We prove in the present study that atomic force
microscopy (AFM) excels scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) in revealing three-dimensionally
the fine structures of cell surfaces. When the AFM
images were compared between the metal-coated
and non-metal-coated surfaces of the nerve cells,
the finer structures of surfaces were detected in the
non-metal-coated cell surfaces. This result clearly
showed that metal coating for preparing the SEM
samples loses fine information that the AFM can
easily obtain from the non-metal-coated cells. The
fine surface structures revealed by the AFM were
thought to be a reflection of the cytoskeletal
network, for example actin organization in growth
cones. Such advantages of the AFM should be
utilized in wider ranges of morphological studies.
