Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a robust and well-tested method to image and probe living systems. Atomic force microscopy, one of many types of scanning probe microscopies, has proven useful for the investigation of disease states and single cell analysis, as a result of high spatial resolution, sensitivity and diversity of operational modes. In addition, AFM can be easily hybridized with secondary techniques, such as fluorescence microscopy, to provide correlated information related to biological samples. This review aims to describe the operation of AFM related to the study of disease states and single cell analysis, and to serve as an overview of recent advances in this subject area. In addition, force spectroscopy, force mapping and relevant hybrid AFM instrumentation will be discussed.
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