4.7. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) Visualization

AFM imaging was conducted with an Agilent 5100 atomic force microscope (Agilent Co., USA). The polysaccharides were dissolved in deionized water and gradually diluted to 1 μg/mL. After being filtered, 1 μL of the sample solution was dripped onto the mica surface substrate, which was pretreated with adhesive tape and vacuum-dried for 5 h. The prepared sample was then imaged under a tapping mode atomic force microscope (TM-AFM) in a constant temperature and pressure operation box.