Special contribution of atomic force microscopy in cell death research

Cell death is an important life activity in individual development. Changes in morphological and mechanical properties during cell death are crucial to identify the modes of cell death. However, due to technical limitations, little is known about these characteristics. The emergence of atomic force microscopy (AFM), a nanoscale research tool that integrates imaging and mechanical measurement functions, provides new insights into our understanding of cell death. Based on a brief introduction to the structure, principle, and working modes of AFM, this article elaborates on the contribution of AFM in cell death to detect morphological and mechanical properties, especially in apoptotic cells. Meanwhile, the potential of AFM in distinguishing different cell death modes and visualizing membrane pores (medicated by apoptosis and pyroptosis) is illustrated. In addition, this article states that using single-molecule force spectroscopy by AFM to study the mechanical and adhesive properties of cell death-related molecules. Finally, we discuss the challenges facing and further perspective of AFM.