Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1 Analytical techniques capable of probing cell-surface interactions
Technique
Information provided
Substrate
Strength
Limitation
RICM
Microscopic/
Optical
Images of contact area between
living cells and growth
substrate
transparent glass substrate
• non-invasive
• areas with very thin cells or cell
protrusions cannot be analyzed
• high time resolution
• cell-substrate separation distance
cannot be quantified reliably
• readout confined to
cell-surface
junction
FLIC Microscopic/
Optical
Distance between lower cell
membrane and surface with
high precision
silicon substrate with steps of
silicon dioxide
• most precise
determination of
cell-substrate
separation distance
• requires membrane staining by
lipophilic membrane dye;
• requires Si-substrate with steps of
SiO 2
TIRF/TIRAF
Microscopic/
Optical
TIRF: identification of molecular
components close to the growth
surface after specific labeling
transparent glass substrate
• readout confined to
cell-surface
junction
•TIRF: requires fluorescent membrane
staining
TIRAF: images of contact area
between living cells and
growth substrate
• detailed image of
cell-surface
junction
•TIRAF: requires fluorescent staining
of extracellular buffer
SPR Optical
Refractive index of material within
hundreds of nm from the
surface; used as integral
readout parameter for cell
coverage
gold film of precise thickness on
glass substrate with specified
refractive index
• label-free and non-
invasive
• interpretation of integral refractive
index still difficult
• high time resolution
• limited parallelization
• readout confined to
cell-surface
junction
Flow-Induced
Mechanical
Quantitative assessment of the
shear resistance of cell-surface
interactions
all substrates
• applicable to all
substrates
• invasive
• no time-resolved information
• direct mechanical
information
• requires cell counting
(continued)
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