INTEGRATED METHOD USING ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY DETERMINING THE BIOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES (SUCH AS VISCOELASTICITY) OF LIVING CELLS AND THE TOPOGRAPHY OF BIOMATERIALS

摘要

The invention relates to a method for determining biocompatibility between living cells and biomaterials, using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Based on the parameter of the surface roughness of the biomaterial, the possible biocompatibility thereof with the cell cultures can be predicted, given that the paradigm in implantology suggests that the greater the roughness, the greater the biocompatibility of the material. The proposed method permits the simultaneous registering of the biomechanical properties of viscoelasticity of the living cells when they are adsorbed in a material and the physical changes in roughness that have occurred on the surface of the material as a result of this interaction. The integration of the obtained measurements permits the predicting of the biocompatibility between the cells and the studied material.