Hybridizing Surface Probe Microscopies Toward a Full Description of the Meso- and Nanoworlds

Introduction
Observing Nature: Sequentiality and Simultaneity
Combination Macroscopic/Microscopic: Extending Measurable Range to Better Understand the Connection between Ultrastructure and Function
Systems That Can Profit from Combined Techniques
Final Remarks
References

Scanning Probe Microscopy as an Imaging Tool: The Blind Microscope
Probe Imaging
Summary
References

What Brings Optical Microscopy: The Eyes at the Microscale
Fundamentals of Optical Microscopy
Fluorescence Microscopy: Bestowing Specificity
High-Performance Modes of Fluorescence Microscopy
Optical Microscopies: Summary
Combined OM-SPM Techniques: Eyesight to the Blind
References

What Brings the Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy: The Eyes at the Nanoscale
Fundamentals of Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy
Applications of SNOM
References

Adding Label-Free Chemical Spectroscopy: Who Is Who?
Chemical Spectroscopy
Raman (and IR) Microscopy
Applications of SPM + Raman Spectroscopy
Applications of SPM + IR Spectroscopy
References

Combining the Nanoscopic with the Macroscopic: SPM and Surface-Sensitive Techniques
Model-Based Surface Techniques
Fundamentals of Surface Plasmon Resonance
Fundamentals of Ellipsometry
Fundamentals of Quartz Crystal Microbalance
The Combination SPM and Model-Based Surface Techniques
References

Scanning Probe Microscopy to Measure Surface Interactions: The Nano Push-Puller
Force Curves: Surface Forces and More
Measuring the Probe-Sample Interaction as a Function of the Relative DisplacementQuantitative Determination of Forces: Instrument and Cantilever Calibration
The Issue of Getting Absolute Distances
Qualitative Interpretation of Force Curves
Chemical Force Microscopy
The Science of Pulling: Single Molecules or Ligand-Receptor Pairs
The Science of Pushing: Contact Nanomechanics
Mapping Interactions
Summary
References

Tidying Up Loose Ends for the Nanopush-Puller: Microinterferometry and the Film Balance
Microinterferometry
Fundamentals of Reflection Interference Contrast Microscopy
The Combined SPM-RICM Technique
The Film Balance and Air–Fluid Interfaces
Fundamentals of the Film Balance
The Combined AFM + Film Balance: The Monolayer Particle Interaction Apparatus (MPIA)
References

Biography

Susana Moreno Flores graduated with a degree in chemistry at the Complutense University (Madrid, Spain), where she also did her doctorate studies at the Department of Physical Chemistry. Thereafter she did postdoctoral stays at the Department of Statistical Physics of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris, France), at the Max-Planck Institute of Polymer Research (Mainz, Germany) and at the Chemistry Department of the University of Basel (Basel, Switzerland), before she worked as researcher in the Biosurfaces Unit at CIC BiomaGUNE (San Sebastián, Spain). She is currently assistant professor at the Department of Nanobiotechnology of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Vienna, Austria).

José L. Toca-Herrera (Santander, Spain) is Professor of Biophysics at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU-Vienna, Austria). After receiving his degree in Physics from the University of Valencia, he carried out a 12-month research training at the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Mainz) with Prof. Wolfgang Knoll. He completed his Ph.D. at the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Golm) under the supervision of Prof. Helmuth Möhwald. After several postdoctoral stays with Prof. Regine von Klitzing (TU-Berlin), Prof. Jane Clarke (University of Cambridge) and Prof. Uwe B. Sleytr (BOKU-Vienna), he joined in 2004 the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona) as RyC research professor. In 2007 he moved to CIC BiomaGUNE (San Sebastián) led by Prof. Martin-Lomas as group leader. In September 2010, he joined the Department of Nanobiotechnology at BOKU (Vienna) where he leads the Laboratory of Biophysics.