Development of an algorithm for tip-related artifacts identification in AFM biological film imaging

Abstract

One major drawback identified in atomic force microscopy imaging is the dependence of the image's precision on the shape of the probe tip. In this paper a simple algorithm is proposed to provide artifact identification signaling in-situ tip features in atomic force microscopy images. The base of the identifications lied when the angle formed between two scanned points was kept the same as the tip sweeps a certain length of the sample. The potential of the described method was illustrated on a chitosan polysaccharide film. The images produced were compared to evaluate tip-artifact regions. This algorithm showed promise as a tool in the measurement and characterization fields to separate true images from artificial images in probe microscopy.

Artifacts in Atomic Force Microscopy of Biological Samples

“…A dilation and an erosion are non-linear mathematical operations consisting in an over-and under-estimation of the tip broadening effect which may help to estimate real object's shape. There were made several attempts to use other deconvolution methods and find the "real" topography based on AFM image, for example using similar angle identification (Bernardes-Filho & Assis, 2005).…”