Chemical force microscopy of chemical and biological interactions

Interactions between chemical functionalities define outcomes of the vast majority of important events in chemistry, biology, and materials science. Chemical force microscopy (CFM)—a technique that uses direct chemical functionalization of atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes with specific functionalities—allows researchers to investigate these important interactions directly. We review the basic principles of CFM, some examples of its application, and theoretical models that provide the basis for understanding the experimental results. We also emphasize application of modern kinetic theory of noncovalent interactions to the analysis of CFM data.