Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

It is still remained as a major issue to observe nanoscale regions by conventional optical systems due to their diffraction limit of the light. To overcome the issue, I have challenged by new imaging systems with scanning probe microscopies (SPM) which are nanoscale imaging techniques by measuring some physical quantities between needle-like probe and sample. My research field is analytical chemistry related to electrochemical reactions. I have self-developed and applied SPMs which use electrochemical reactions between pipette and sample as measurement signals.

Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), which a core of my research, can obtain nanoscale images on the sample surface without mechanical stimulation by measuring current decrease near the sample. Thus, SICM can measure natural states on the cell membrane without damaging to the cell. Moreover, SICM is also applicable for local stimulation, collection and handling by utilizing the nanoscale pipette. Beside this, currently I have combined other SPM techniques with my SICM based system, and apply to various samples across disciplinary fields including materials science.