Atomic force microscope manufacturer Asylum Research of Santa Barbara, Calif., has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Institut Curie of Paris for its patent on magnetic-actuated cantilever technology, covering its use in Europe and the US. The technology enables nondestructive atomic force microscopy of sensitive samples, particularly for imaging bioscience and polymer samples in fluids. It overcomes the limitation of magnetically actuated techniques that require cantilevers with magnetic coating, the quality of which may be unreliable, compromising an experiment with unwanted metal ions.