Fig. 6. Nano-mechanical response of SH-SY5Y living cells upon nanoparticle exposure (60 μg ml⁻¹). (a) Representative AFM images of untreated SH-SY5Y live cells and (b) SH-SY5Y live cells exposed to 60 μg ml⁻¹ GNPs–LA, (c) GNPs–α-Syn and (d) the GNPs–LA/GNPs–α-Syn mixture. Corresponding 3D topographic images are shown in the lower panels. (e) Height profile of untreated SH-SY5Y live cells and (f) SH-SY5Y live cells treated with GNPs–LA, (g) GNPs–α-Syn and (h) the GNPs–LA/GNPs–α-Syn mixture across the lines in the topographic AFM images. Scale bar = 10 μm. (i and j) Young's modulus mean values obtained from AFM measurements on SH-SY5Y living cells after the exposure to GNPs–LA, GNPs–α-Syn and the GNPs–LA/GNPs–α-Syn mixture for 24 h and 72 h. Error bars represent the SEM of the mean for each condition, n = 30 cells. (k) Schematic of the setup for the nano-mechanical studies.