Introduction Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a powerful, non-destructive technique that can be applied to the study of a variety of materials of biological signifi cance and/or biological origin. It provides a means to study the structural elements of very delicate structures, such as healthy or diseased living cells and offers unique opportunities to image, identify and study biological features on the surface of cells and even certain structural elements inside of cells. Using AFM to image living cells, important information on the architecture of membranes, organelles, and cytoskeletal structures can directly be gathered, without the use of potentially interfering fl uorescent labels or probes. Cellular studies that have been aided by AFM have provided information about living cell dynamics, intercellular communication and responses to stimulus, drugs, or toxic substances; all in real-time. Non-destructive AFM images of cellular structures can quickly and easily be obtained with the Agilent 5500 AFM. Whether this AFM is used as a stand alone system or it is combined with an inverted optical microscope (ILM), images of living cells and cellular structures, far below the limits of optical resolution, can be quickly and relatively easily obtained.