Application of total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to study cell adhesion to biomaterials.
Cell adhesion and function depend upon the formation of adhesive contacts between the cell and substrate. Determination of the cell substrate contact area is necessary in order to understand how biomaterial properties influence cell adhesion. In this review we describe the development and application of total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) to quantify the separation distance of cells from a biomaterial surface. An approximate theory is presented for the straightforward calculation of separation distances when a fluor is placed in the cell membrane. The validity of this approach is discussed. TIRFM is compared to interference reflection microscopy and related techniques that measure cell/substrate separation distances. This approach is then applied to a number of important problems in cell substrate interactions, including changes in contact area and adhesion strength on biomaterial surfaces, analysis of bond strength, and real-time measurement of cell/substrate separation distances following exposure to flow.
Duke Scholars
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- Models, Theoretical
- Microscopy, Fluorescence
- Humans
- Fluorescent Dyes
- Cells
- Cell Physiological Phenomena
- Cell Membrane
- Cell Adhesion
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biocompatible Materials
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Models, Theoretical
- Microscopy, Fluorescence
- Humans
- Fluorescent Dyes
- Cells
- Cell Physiological Phenomena
- Cell Membrane
- Cell Adhesion
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biocompatible Materials