[S2-5] Nanoscale physical properties of living bacteria cell surface by scanning ion conductance microscopy
Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) is one of the scanning probe techniques used glass nanopipette as a probe for analyzing surface properties of a sample in a liquid environment. SICM allows us to map not only topography but also surface physical properties originating from materials consisting on local sample surfaces, such as elastic modulus and surface charge density. Recently, we have improved in a fundamental performance of SICM, such as spatial and temporal resolution, and developed a method to perform high-speed mapping of physical properties of living eukaryotic cell surfaces. In this study, by applying this technique to living bacteria cell surface, we revealed that nanoscale physical properties of the living cell and their dynamics show heterogeneous and are a lot of variety. We will discuss how information obtained from SICM measurements relates to biological phenomena on living bacteria cell surfaces. In addition, we will discuss the potential of SICM applications in biological studies in bacteria cells.