Abstract
More and more researchers are interested in imaging living (Henderson, 1994) or fixed cells in their natural environment using the atomic force microscope (AFM). However, the AFM tip interacts strongly with the sample, and its z range freedom is limited to a few micrometers. This means that the cells to be imaged have to be strongly attached to the substrate, and imaging is restricted to cells having a flattened shape. Here we propose a simple and inexpensive solution to overcome these limitations. The method we propose is trapping living round shaped cells in a Millipore filter with a pore size comparable to the dimensions of the cell. The highest part of some of the blocked cells protrude through the holes of the filter and can this way be easily observed using the AFM without detachment.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Binnig G, Quate CF, Gerber C. Atomic force microscope. Phys Rev Lett. 1986 Mar 3;56(9):930–933. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.56.930. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fritz M., Radmacher M., Gaub H. E. Granula motion and membrane spreading during activation of human platelets imaged by atomic force microscopy. Biophys J. 1994 May;66(5):1328–1334. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(94)80963-4. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Holstein T. W., Benoit M., Herder G. V., David C. N., Wanner G., Gaub H. E. Fibrous mini-collagens in hydra nematocysts. Science. 1994 Jul 15;265(5170):402–404. doi: 10.1126/science.265.5170.402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hörber J. K., Häberle W., Ohnesorge F., Binnig G., Liebich H. G., Czerny C. P., Mahnel H., Mayr A. Investigation of living cells in the nanometer regime with the scanning force microscope. Scanning Microsc. 1992 Dec;6(4):919–930. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kasas S., Gotzos V., Celio M. R. Observation of living cells using the atomic force microscope. Biophys J. 1993 Feb;64(2):539–544. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(93)81396-1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Radmacher M., Tillamnn R. W., Fritz M., Gaub H. E. From molecules to cells: imaging soft samples with the atomic force microscope. Science. 1992 Sep 25;257(5078):1900–1905. doi: 10.1126/science.1411505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]