The evaluation of topography Borrelia burgdorferi by atomic force microscope (AFM)

Abstract

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the topography of spirochetes’ cells Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. B31 in atomic force microscope (AFM). Results: The length of spirochetes B. burgdorferi has ranged between 15.38-22.68µm. The cells of spirochetes do not constitute structures of a fixed diameter and height. Thus, in order to identify real parameters of cells, the horizontal distance and vertical distance have been used in the measurements. The average value of a spirochetes’ diameter has been estimated by taking series of measures and it is 0.40 μm. The average value of a spirochetes’ height has been estimated by taking series of measures and it is 70.14 nm. The analysis of a relation between measured parameters of spirochetes: diameter and height revealed that along with the growth of diameter of a bacteria cell, its height also grows. The average value of a fibers’ diameter has been estimated by taking series of measurements and it is 0.09 μm and the average height of fibers was 7.91 nm. Conclusions: The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a modern tool with a broad spectrum of observatory and measure abilities and is a technique which has been used in biology and microbiology to investigate the topography of surface and in the evaluation properties of cells.