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In particular, it could work on biological samples in water, opening the door to what has become a huge area of current biological and biomedical research: AFM of biological processes to understand things such as the mechanism of action of antimicrobial peptides.
It is the highest resolution microscopy available for biological samples in water, other than that of another technology he co-invented, called Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy (SICM). SICM is more difficult to use than AFM and so, thus far, is only used by specialists.
He collaborated with fellow physics professor Virgil Elings, who started a company, licensed Hansma’s UCSB patent, and produced the world’s first commercial AFM, the Multimode.
Nanotechnology Now
Paul Hansma
Photo Credit: COURTESY IMAGE
Abstract:
Necessity is the mother of invention, and nowhere does that aphorism apply more than in the realm of humans and their physical needs.
Building Useful Gadgets: Biophysicist Paul Hansma joins the National Academy of Inventors
Santa Barbara, CA | Posted on December 9th, 2020
That need has inspired Paul Hansma, a UC Santa Barbara biophysicist, to devote decades of his career to developing instruments that can advance medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of some of the most debilitating conditions, thereby improving human health.
What I find most fascinating and fun about inventing is working with an interdisciplinary team to create really helpful gadgets, Hansma said.