Quantifying the nanoscale forces between pathogens (yeasts, micro organism and viruses) and human host cells is vital to understanding the primary stage of microbial an infection, and provides promising prospects in nanomedicine for remedy. In 2016, we revealed an article in Nanoscale Horizons (S. El-Kirat-Chatel and Y. F. Dufrêne, Nanoscale Horiz., 2016, 1, 69–74, https://doi.org/10.1039/C5NH00049A) through which we established atomic drive microscopy as a nanoscopy platform for finding out the adhesion forces between the fungal pathogen Candida albicans and immune cells. The adhesion between the pathogen and macrophages was robust and primarily concerned a number of particular molecular bonds between lectin receptors on the host membrane and mannan carbohydrates on the fungal cell floor. This paper has since then impressed many nanoscopy experiments which have led to a deeper understanding of the adhesion of assorted pathogens, from fungi to micro organism and viruses, to their goal host cells. Collectively, these research emphasise the significance of protein and glycan mechanobiology in regulating pathogen–host adhesion and an infection, and provide promising prospects for the event of therapeutic approaches in opposition to intracellular pathogens.
