Gluing Micro-Spheres on Cantilevers in Aqueous Solution

^{KEYWORDS: Atomic Force Microscopy; AFM; Cantilever;  Micro-Spheres; CellHesion}

A new procedure was developed which is suitable for gluing silica micro-spheres with high accuracy on a tipless CSC12 AFM-cantilever. As most steps are performed in aqueous solution, the benefits are the applicability even in presence of strong adhesive forces between support and micro-sphere and the possibility to correct the micro-sphere position on the cantilever until the glue is cured via UV-radiation. This technical note details this protocol.

Readers can expect to learn about:

• Disadvantages of common in-air procedures;
• How the new procedure overcomes these disadvantages; and
• The steps of gluing silica micro-spheres on a tipless cantilever in aqueous solution in detail;