AXZ viewer: a web application to visualize unprocessed AFM‑IR data

Motivation Atomic Force Microscopy-based Infrared spectroscopy (AFM‑IR) is a novel and innovative method for label-free high-resolution structural biology. However, the nature of the data files generated by AFM‑IR instruments precludes investigation by conventional open-source scientific image analysis software suites. As a result, reporting of AFM‑IR data sets is not standardized and the data itself is difficult to audit. Results We have developed a web application that allows anyone to open, review, and audit raw AFM‑IR data files easily and without deep knowledge of the method. It also exposes all metadata recorded by the microscope at the time of measurement. The web application is based on a Python package that supports custom data analyses within the scientific Python ecosystem. This tool provides an accessible, transparent solution for AFM‑IR data review, with the potential to support reproducibility and standardization in AFM‑IR research and encourage wider adoption of this innovative spectroscopy method. Availability The web app is hosted at https://anasys-python-tools-gui.streamlit.app. Its source code is listed at https://github.com/wduverger/anasys-python-tools-gui. The underlying Python package is available at https://github.com/GeorgRamer/anasys-python-tools and can be installed using pip.