Atomic Force Microscopy of Plant Cell Walls

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to obtain high-resolution images on a wide variety of materials. Unfortunately, plant cell wall material is typically too rough to be imaged as native tissue by AFM. Small tissue fragments can be produced through careful ball milling. These fragments can subsequently be imaged at high resolution in near native conditions showing the overall architecture and the arrangement of the individual cellulose fibrils. An overview of items that can cause practical difficulties is given, as is a description of common image artifacts.