9am to 12:30pm, Tuesday 14 July

BioSPM will bring together method developers and life-science researchers to discuss how SPM-based techniques can address structure–function relationships in cells, tissues, and biomolecular assemblies linking nanometer-scale organisation with mechanical, chemical, and bioelectrical functionality in physiologically relevant conditions.

BioSPM is aimed at identifying and addressing key challenges in functional imaging and force spectroscopy of biological matter, including high-resolution mapping of soft, heterogeneous, and dynamic samples. The section highlights the latest advances in SPM modes, high-speed approaches, multimodal measurements, and correlative workflows that enable new questions in cell biology and biophysics to be tackled—such as how mechanical cues regulate signalling, how membranes and cytoskeletal networks reorganise, and how biological interfaces respond to drugs, nanoparticles, and external stimuli.

The goal of BioSPM is to strengthen the research community at the intersection of SPM and life sciences, fostering collaboration among researchers interested in how SPM can uncover and explain emerging biological and physicochemical phenomena—from single molecules and membranes to microbes and living cells.

Session topics (including, but not limited to):

• High-resolution and time-resolved imaging of living cells, bacteria, and viruses
• Mechanobiology and cellular mechanics (elasticity, adhesion, viscoelasticity, mechanotransduction)
• Nanomechanics of biomaterials and biointerfaces (ECM, hydrogels, soft tissues, coatings)
• SPM-based force spectroscopy of proteins, membranes, and molecular complexes
• Chemical imaging and functional mapping in biological environments
• Correlative / combined imaging (SPM with fluorescence, super-resolution, spectroscopy)
• Combined scanning probe & fluorescence microscopy for live-cell studies
• High-speed AFM for dynamic biological processes
• SPM for neuroscience (neuronal mechanics, axon–glia interfaces, synaptic nano-organization, neuro-material interactions)
• Cardiovascular research using SPM (cardiomyocyte and endothelial mechanics, vascular stiffness and remodelling, mechanoregulation in atherosclerosis, thrombosis and platelet biomechanics, cardiac tissue scaffolds and biomaterials)
• SPM in biology and medicine (diagnostics, drug response, biomarker mapping)
• SPM-based biopsy from and delivery to cytoplasm of individual cells