The ability to repeatedly find exact the same nano region-of-interest (nROI) is essential for atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of heterogeneous environmental samples. The large variety of methods makes it difficult to find the most suitable one for a specific research question. We thus conducted a literature research for nROI relocation methods and organized the found references in order to give an overview over relocation methods including the advantages, limitations and documented applications. This survey of nROI relocation methods and their key information facilitates the selection of appropriate methods with respect to a specific research question. Based on this survey, we developed a new AFM relocation approach urgently needed for the study of nano and micro sized particles and cells in air and aqueous environment. This approach uses commercially available TEM grids fully embedded in a semitransparent resin as a glue body on top of which particles and cells are fixed. Relocation of nROI within one grid is based on easily recognizable sample features in micro and nanometer scale. The stable sticking of the studied mineral particles and bacterial cells allows repeated measurements of the same nROI with differently functionalized tips in air as well as in water. Our simple, fast, and cost-effective method allows relocation with an accuracy of 10-40 nm and enables the implementation of AFM/ESEM correlative microscopy.

中文翻译：

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液体环境中纳米和微米尺寸粒子和细胞的 AFM 成像重复尖端样品重定位的新方法

重复找到完全相同的纳米感兴趣区域 (nROI) 的能力对于异构环境样品的原子力显微镜 (AFM) 研究至关重要。种类繁多的方法使得很难找到最适合特定研究问题的方法。因此，我们对 nROI 重定位方法进行了文献研究，并组织了找到的参考文献，以便对重定位方法进行概述，包括优点、局限性和文档化应用。本次对 nROI 重定位方法及其关键信息的调查有助于针对特定研究问题选择适当的方法。基于这项调查，我们开发了一种新的 AFM 重定位方法，用于研究空气和水环境中的纳米和微米尺寸的粒子和细胞。这种方法使用完全嵌入半透明树脂中的市售 TEM 网格作为胶体，其上固定有颗粒和细胞。在一个网格内重新定位 nROI 是基于在微米和纳米尺度上易于识别的样本特征。所研究的矿物颗粒和细菌细胞的稳定粘附允许在空气和水中使用不同功能的尖端重复测量相同的 nROI。我们简单、快速且经济高效的方法允许以 10-40 nm 的精度重新定位，并能够实现 AFM/ESEM 相关显微镜。所研究的矿物颗粒和细菌细胞的稳定粘附允许在空气和水中使用不同功能的尖端重复测量相同的 nROI。我们简单、快速且经济高效的方法允许以 10-40 nm 的精度重新定位，并能够实现 AFM/ESEM 相关显微镜。所研究的矿物颗粒和细菌细胞的稳定粘附允许在空气和水中使用不同功能的尖端重复测量相同的 nROI。我们简单、快速且经济高效的方法允许以 10-40 nm 的精度重新定位，并能够实现 AFM/ESEM 相关显微镜。