Christopher Frewin

University of South Florida United States of America

Dr. Christopher L. Frewin is a National Institute of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Post Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida. He began as materials scientist. He designed and generated a chemical vapor deposition reactor for the heteroepitaxial growth of cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC). He used the AFM at Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Stuttgart, Germany to evaluate topographic changes in the etched surfaces of SiC. He employed AFM techniques to characterize his 3C-SiC crystals grown in the CVD reactor. During his Ph.D. candidacy, he switched focus from materials science to bioengineering by characterizing the in vitro biocompatibility of 3C-SiC and diamond to neural cells. The key of this investigation centered on living cell AFM measurements which were used to assess cellular lamellipodia/ filopodia permissiveness. Currently he is developing 3C-SiC implantable neural prosthetics for brain machine interface devices.

Christopher Frewin

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Latest work with IntechOpen by Christopher Frewin

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has become one of the leading nanoscale measurement techniques for materials science since its creation in the 1980's, but has been gaining popularity in a seemingly unrelated field of science: biology. The AFM naturally lends itself to investigating the topological surfaces of biological objects, from whole cells to protein particulates, and can also be used to determine physical properties such as Young's modulus, stiffness, molecular bond strength, surface friction, and many more. One of the most important reasons for the rise of biological AFM is that you can measure materials within a physiologically relevant environment (i.e. liquids). This book is a collection of works beginning with an introduction to the AFM along with techniques and methods of sample preparation. Then the book displays current research covering subjects ranging from nano-particulates, proteins, DNA, viruses, cellular structures, and the characterization of living cells.

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