免疫毒素LHRH-PE40对HeLa细胞表面硬度的影响

利用基于原子力显微镜(AFM)的力谱技术,在正常生长的单个活细胞表面上,实时动态地研究了免疫毒素LHRH-PE40对HeLa细胞表面硬度的影响。采用Hertz-Sneddon模型计算所得力曲线相应的杨氏模量。实验表明,LHRH-PE40会引发HeLa细胞表面硬度逐步增加,且这种硬度的增加与细胞内微丝骨架的重组聚集有关系。本研究为全面掌握LHRH-PE40的药用效果和作用机理提供了重要信息。     

正常人眼角膜上皮细胞的原子力显微镜观察

应用原子力显微镜(AFM)在单细胞水平上分析了人眼角膜上皮细胞的形貌和机械性质,为进一步探讨人眼角膜上皮细胞结构与功能的关系奠定了基础.将体外培养的人眼角膜上皮细胞用2.5%戊二醛固定,空气中干燥后用原子力显微镜进行观察.从AFM形貌图可知,细胞呈长梭形,膜表面布满颗粒状物质,由AFM附带软件IP2.1的线分析及面分析功能,得到细胞膜表面结构的几何参数,包括高低差Rp-v、均方根粗糙度Rq、平均粗糙度Ra、平均高度Meant Ht.利用AFM高空间分辨的力位移曲线测量系统,可得出细胞膜的粘弹力、硬度和杨氏模量.AFM能对人眼角膜上皮细胞表面的超微结构清晰地成像并提供更多更确切的表面信息,从另一层面增加对眼角膜上皮细胞的认识.     

金电极表面植物原生质体的固定化

近年来 ,基于聚电解质同携带相反电荷的基团之间的静电吸引作用组装超薄复合膜的研究受到广泛的关注 [1～ 7] .但是 ,利用聚电解质来固定生物活细胞的研究尚不多见 .Wen等 [8]曾在水溶液中利用聚电解质复合物构成的微囊来固定人体肿瘤活细胞 .本文将该技术应用于生物活细胞在电极表面的固定化 .利用吸附在金电极上的荷正电的聚二烯丙基二甲基氯化铵 [Poly( diallyldimethylammoniumchloride) ,PDADMAC]将携带负电荷的大麦细胞固定在金电极表面 ,运用扫描隧道显微镜 ( STM)、石英晶体微天平 ( QCM)及共焦激光扫描荧光显微镜对该过程进…     

用于细胞三维培养的集成微柱阵列的微流控芯片设计与验证

设计并验证了一种用于细胞三维培养的集成微柱阵列的微流控芯片.芯片由一片聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)沟道片和一片玻璃盖片组成, 在PDMS沟道片上集成了一个由两排微柱阵列围成的细胞培养室和两条用于输送培养基的侧沟道.微柱间距直接影响了芯片的使用性能, 是整个芯片设计的关键.基于数值模拟和实验验证, 本研究对微柱间距进行了优化设计.优化后的微流控芯片可以很好地实现细胞与细胞外基质模拟材料混合液的稳定注入、培养基中营养物质向培养室内的快速扩散和细胞代谢物的及时排出.在芯片上进行了神经干细胞的三维培养, 证明了芯片上构建的细胞体外微环境的稳定性.     

缓蚀剂吸附行为的电化学及AFM力曲线研究

结合极化曲线,微分电容曲线测试和AFM力曲线技术研究了直链十二胺对氯化钠溶液中铜镍合金的缓蚀行为以及吸附机理。结果表明:十二胺在合金表面形成单分子层吸附膜而起到缓蚀作用。十二胺浓度越大,吸附膜越致密,缓蚀率越高,力曲线上测得的粘附力值也越大。质子化的十二胺在荷负电的合金表面的吸附使电极零电荷电位正移,电荷屏蔽作用使得AFM力曲线上探针与试样之间的长程静电斥力减小。     

原子力显微镜对中性粒细胞与K562细胞超微结构及机械性能的探测

采用原子力显微镜在纳米尺度下对正常中性粒细胞与白血病细胞株K562细胞的表面形貌及细胞的硬度、粘附力进行定性定量分析.结果表明,相比正常中性粒细胞的平均粗糙度(Ra=5.31±1.52 nm),K562细胞的超微结构更为复杂,细胞表面平均粗糙度显著升高(Ra=26.54±8.01 nm).此外,细胞的生物机械特性也有显著差别:中性粒细胞的硬度为9.5±1.3 kPa,AFM针尖与中性粒细胞的非特异性粘附力为135±23.4 pN;K562细胞的硬度为3.0±0.8 kPa,AFM针尖与K562细胞的非特异性粘附力为95±15.6 pN.AFM在单细胞水平上的探测表明,中性粒细胞和K562细胞的超微结构和机械特性均有明显差异.通过对细胞表面超微结构和力学特性的探测可以诊断慢性粒细胞白血病,原子力显微镜有望成为临床肿瘤诊断的工具.     

超微电极实时监测植物细胞壁参与调控的单细胞活性氧爆发

植物细胞活性氧爆发在植物的抗病以及信号转导中起着非常重要的作用,植物内活性氧产生及代谢受到复杂而精确的机制调控,从而维持正常的活性氧水平以发挥其生理功能. 然而,在单细胞水平开展活性氧爆发实时监测及其调控机制研究一直受到很大的挑战. 本文以碳纤维微盘电极（CFMDE）为基底电极,利用Nafion的模板效应,采用电化学沉积法制得纳米铂颗粒修饰电极（NPt/Nafion/ CFMDE）;同时采用基于聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）的软光刻技术,制备了一种高效固定植物悬浮细胞的琼脂糖阵列微孔芯片. 使用NPt/Nafion/CFMDE实时监测了单个拟南芥原生质体活性氧爆发,并证明电化学监测活性氧的主要成分为过氧化氢. 在此基础上,采用浅层培养法培养原生质体再生植物细胞壁. 电化学监测结果表明,与单个原生质体相比,植物细胞在受到刺激时释放的过氧化氢量显著降低;然而当采用过氧化物酶抑制剂抑制植物细胞壁上过氧化物酶活性后,植物细胞释放过氧化氢量显著回升. 研究结果表明细胞壁在活性氧爆发过程具有很好的调控功能,可望促进植物细胞活性氧爆发及其调控机制的研究.     

超微电极实时监测植物细胞壁参与调控的单细胞活性氧爆发（英文）

植物细胞活性氧爆发在植物的抗病以及信号转导中起着非常重要的作用,植物内活性氧产生及代谢受到复杂而精确的机制调控,从而维持正常的活性氧水平以发挥其生理功能.然而,在单细胞水平开展活性氧爆发实时监测及其调控机制研究一直受到很大的挑战.本文以碳纤维微盘电极(CFMDE)为基底电极,利用Nafion的模板效应,采用电化学沉积法制得纳米铂颗粒修饰电极(NPt/Nafion/CFMDE);同时采用基于聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)的软光刻技术,制备了一种高效固定植物悬浮细胞的琼脂糖阵列微孔芯片.使用NPt/Nafion/CFMDE实时监测了单个拟南芥原生质体活性氧爆发,并证明电化学监测活性氧的主要成分为过氧化氢.在此基础上,采用浅层培养法培养原生质体再生植物细胞壁.电化学监测结果表明,与单个原生质体相比,植物细胞在受到刺激时释放的过氧化氢量显著降低;然而当采用过氧化物酶抑制剂抑制植物细胞壁上过氧化物酶活性后,植物细胞释放过氧化氢量显著回升.研究结果表明,细胞壁在活性氧爆发过程具有很好的调控功能,可望促进植物细胞活性氧爆发及其调控机制的研究.     

抑制Q235钢CO2腐蚀的气液双相咪唑啉衍生物缓蚀剂的缓蚀行为

采用失重法、交流阻抗(EIS)及傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、原子力显微镜(AFM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等表面分析测试方法首次研究了硫脲基咪唑啉衍生物(TAI)作为抑制CO₂腐蚀的气液双相缓蚀剂的缓蚀行为. 结果表明, 该硫脲基咪唑啉缓蚀剂能有效地抑制Q235 钢在气液双相中的CO₂腐蚀. AFM测试结果表明该缓蚀剂能显著地降低碳钢表面的腐蚀破坏, 并且由于碳钢表面形成的缓蚀剂吸附膜的疏水作用,可在AFM探头和碳钢表面之间检测到更大的粘附力, 而探针与试样表面之间的长程静电斥力在气相中增加,在液相中由于表面电荷的屏蔽效应而减小. XPS和FT-IR 光谱测试表明液相中和气相中在碳钢表面形成吸附膜的缓蚀剂成分分别是硫脲基咪唑啉衍生物和其酸水解产物——酰胺. 以上结果也进一步证实了咪唑啉衍生物在酸性溶液中的水解机理.     

用于DNA杂交检测的丝网印刷型生物传感器的研究

将单链DNA(ssDNA)固定到丝网印刷碳电极上构成电化学DNA传感器,采用电化学指示剂,建立DNA杂交的检测方法.Co(phen)33+电化学指示剂通过钴盐与配体邻菲罗啉络合制备,采用等离子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)和核磁共振法(NMR)表征功能基团,采用循环伏安法(CV)分析指示剂的电化学特性,并以此为基础研究ssDNA在电极表面的固定及DNA杂交过程.本研究探讨了直接吸附、静电吸附与键合等3种ssD-NA在电极表面的固定方法,结果表明,静电吸附法和键合法具有较高的ssDNA固定量,采用静电吸附法固定探针的电极杂交目标DNA后,Co(phen)33+易于嵌入双链DNA (dsDNA)中,CV峰电流(ip)信号随目标DNA浓度增加.本研究采用静电吸附ssDNA的电极检测DNA杂交,实验表明,当探针固定液中ssDNA浓度为5 mg/L时,目标DNA浓度在6.65×10- 8～4.26× 10-6mol/L范围内,Co(phen)33+在dsDNA修饰电极上ip值与DNA浓度呈良好的线性关系,R2为0.9819.本研究为建立新的微生物分子分型手段提供了初步依据.     

Atomic force microscopy of microvillous cell surface dynamics at fixed and living alveolar type II cells

Scanning probe techniques enable direct imaging of morphology changes associated with cellular processes at life specimen. Here, glutaraldehyde-fixed and living alveolar type II (ATII) cells were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the obtained topographical data were correlated with results obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal microscopy (CM). We show that low-force contact mode AFM at glutaraldehyde-fixed cells provides complementary results to SEM and CM. Both AFM and SEM images reveal fine structures at the surface of fixed cells, which indicate microvilli protrusions. If ATII cells were treated with Ca²⁺ channel modulators known to induce massive endocytosis, changes of the cell surface topography became evident by the depletion of microvilli. Low force contact mode AFM imaging at fixed ATII cells revealed a significant reduction of the surface roughness for capsazepine and 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl-borate (CPZ/2-APB)-treated cells compared to untreated control cells (Rc of 99.7 ± 6.8 nm vs. Rc of 71.9 ± 4.6 nm for N = 22), which was confirmed via SEM studies. CM of microvilli marker protein Ezrin revealed a cytoplasmic localization of Ezrin in CPZ/2-APB-treated cells, whereas a submembranous Ezrin localization was observed in control cells. Furthermore, in situ AFM investigations at living ATII cells using low force contact mode imaging revealed an apparent decrease in cell height of 17% during stimulation experiments. We conclude that a dynamic reorganization of the microvillous cell surface occurs in ATII cells at conditions of stimulated endocytosis.     

Cell mechanics using atomic force microscopy-based single-cell compression

We report herein the establishment of a single-cell compression method based on force measurements in atomic force microscopy (AFM). The high-resolution bright-field or confocal laser scanning microscopy guides the location of the AFM probe and then monitors the deformation of cell shape, while microsphere-modified AFM probes compress the cell and measure the force. Force and deformation profiles of living cells reveal a cubic relationship at small deformation (<30%), multiple peaks at 30-70% compression, and a rapid increase at over 80% deformation. The initial compression may be described qualitatively and quantitatively using a simple model of a nonpermeable balloon filled with incompressible fluid. Stress peaks reflect cell membrane rupture, followed by the deformation and rupture of intracellular components, beyond which the cell responses become irreversible. The Young's modulus and bending constant of living cell membranes are extracted from the balloon models, with 10-30 MPa and 17-52 kT, respectively. The initial compression of dead and fixed cells is modeled using Hertzian contact theory, assuming that the cell is a homogeneous sphere. Dead cells exhibit a cytoskeleton elasticity of 4-7.5 kPa, while fixation treatment leads to a dramatic increase in the cytoskeletal Young's modulus (150-230 kPa) due to protein cross-linking by imine bonds. These results demonstrate the high sensitivity of the single-cell compression method to the molecular-level structural changes of cells, which suggests a new generic platform for investigating cell mechanics in tissue engineering and cancer research.     

Interrogation of living cells using alternating current scanning electrochemical microscopy (AC-SECM)

In this paper we present the application of alternating current scanning electrochemical microscopy (AC-SECM) to the study of living cells. Commercial AFM instrumentation was modified to allow for performing robust AC-SECM measurements. Constant height AC imaging of the Cos-7 cells, performed directly in cell culture medium without the addition of a redox mediator, provided topographical information of the cell. Stationary tip measurements on the AC current were carried out to investigate the cellular activity of a single cell. The dependence of AC current magnitude on tip-to-sample separation distance was used to monitor real time changes in cell height of individual Cos-7 cells. Furthermore, AC-SECM was employed to observe changes in metabolic cellular activity stimulated by ethanol and phorbol-1,2-myristate-acetate-3. The effect of changing cellular activity on constant height AC-SECM imaging was also studied.     

Correlated atomic force microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging of live bacterial cells

We report on imaging living bacterial cells by using a correlated tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) and confocal fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). For optimal imaging of Gram-negative Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 cells, we explored different methods of bacterial sample preparation, such as spreading the cells on poly-L-lysine coated surfaces or agarose gel coated surfaces. We have found that the agarose gel containing 99% ammonium acetate buffer can provide sufficient local aqueous environment for single bacterial cells. Furthermore, the cell surface topography can be characterized by tapping-mode in-air AFM imaging for the single bacterial cells that are partially embedded. Using in-air rather than under-water AFM imaging of the living cells significantly enhanced the contrast and signal-to-noise ratio of the AFM images. Near-field AFM-tip-enhanced fluorescence lifetime imaging (AFM-FLIM) holds high promise on obtaining fluorescence images beyond optical diffraction limited spatial resolution. We have previously demonstrated near-field AFM-FLIM imaging of polymer beads beyond diffraction limited spatial resolution. Here, as the first step of applying AFM-FLIM on imaging bacterial living cells, we demonstrated a correlated and consecutive AFM topographic imaging, fluorescence intensity imaging, and FLIM imaging of living bacterial cells to characterize cell polarity.     

Investigating the morphology and mechanical properties of blastomeres with atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to directly investigate the morphology and mechanical properties of blastomeres during the embryo development. With AFM imaging, the surface topography of blastomeres from two‐cell, four‐cell, and eight‐cell stages was visualized, and the AFM images clearly revealed the blastomere's morphological changes during the different embryo developmental stages. The section measurements of the AFM topography images of the blastomeres showed that the axis of the embryos nearly kept constant during the two‐cell, four‐cell, and eight‐cell stages. With AFM indenting, the mechanical properties of living blastomeres from several embryos were measured quantitatively under physiological conditions. The results of mechanical properties measurements indicated that the Young's modulus of the two blastomeres from two‐cell embryo was different from each other, and the four blastomeres from the four‐cell embryo also had variable Young's modulus. Besides, the blastomeres from two‐cell embryos were significantly harder than blastomeres from four‐cell embryos. These results can improve our understanding of the embryo development from the view of cell mechanics. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

AFM研究蝙蝠葛碱对daudi细胞毒性的影响

利用原子力显微镜、CCK-8实验和流式细胞术研究了蝙蝠葛碱(dauricine)对B细胞淋巴瘤daudi细胞的细胞毒性。蝙蝠葛碱能显著抑制daudi细胞的增殖。CCK-8实验表明,细胞存活率与蝙蝠葛碱浓度存在时间依赖和剂量依赖关系。经10～50μmol/L的蝙蝠葛碱作用24 h后,daudi细胞存活率从(89.8±4.3)%降至(11.2±3.2)%;48 h后,存活率从(68.9±2.6)%降至(2.5±0.5)%。流式细胞术表明蝙蝠葛碱处理dau-di细胞24 h后,凋亡率从5.2%增至28.2%(60μmol/L)。AFM数据显示对照组细胞呈圆形,表面较光滑。经蝙蝠葛碱处理后,daudi细胞坍塌,超微结构显示细胞表面粗糙、凹凸不平。此外,经不同浓度蝙蝠葛碱作用的daudi细胞,其线粒体膜电位随着药物浓度的加大而降低。蝙蝠葛碱能显著抑制daudi细胞生长增殖。     

Comparison of scanning ion conductance microscopy with atomic force microscopy for cell imaging

We present the first direct comparison of scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) with atomic force microscopy (AFM) for cell imaging. By imaging the same fibroblast or myoblast cell with both technologies in series, we highlight their advantages and disadvantages with respect to cell imaging. The finite imaging force applied to the sample in AFM imaging results in a coupling of mechanical sample properties into the measured sample topography. For soft samples such as cells this leads to artifacts in the measured topography and to elastic deformation, which we demonstrate by imaging whole fixed cells and cell extensions at high resolution. SICM imaging, on the other hand, has a noncontact character and can provide the true topography of soft samples at a comparable resolution.     

Asymmetric elastic properties of Dictyostelium discoideum in relation to chemotaxis

In this study we used an AFM to investigate the cytoskeletal properties of live Dictyostelium discoideum cells by measuring the local stiffness across individual living cells. We have examined differences in elastic properties of polarized and unpolarized AX3 wild type and the mutant DAip1- cells, as well as the differences in the front and rear of the cells in relation to organization of the actin cytoskeleton. We found that the average Young's modulus increases upon polarization for the thin regions of the cell and that in polarized cells, the cell front was stiffer than the cell back. We also found that AX3 cells were stiffer than DAip1- cells. This finding suggests that actin polymerization is one of the major determinants of cell motility in Dictyostelium. In addition, a thin agarose film was studied as a model system to examine the influence of the substrate of thin materials probed with the AFM.     

Architecture and high-resolution structure of Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus spore coat surfaces

We have utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) to visualize the native surface topography and ultrastructure of Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus spores in water and in air. AFM was able to resolve the nanostructure of the exosporium and three distinctive classes of appendages. Removal of the exosporium exposed either a hexagonal honeycomb layer (B. thuringiensis) or a rodlet outer spore coat layer (B. cereus). Removal of the rodlet structure from B. cereus spores revealed an underlying honeycomb layer similar to that observed with B. thuringiensis spores. The periodicity of the rodlet structure on the outer spore coat of B. cereus was approximately 8 nm, and the length of the rodlets was limited to the cross-patched domain structure of this layer to approximately 200 nm. The lattice constant of the honeycomb structures was approximately 9 nm for both B. cereus and B. thuringiensis spores. Both honeycomb structures were composed of multiple, disoriented domains with distinct boundaries. Our results demonstrate that variations in storage and preparation procedures result in architectural changes in individual spore surfaces, which establish AFM as a useful tool for evaluation of preparation and processing "fingerprints" of bacterial spores. These results establish that high-resolution AFM has the capacity to reveal species-specific assembly and nanometer scale structure of spore surfaces. These species-specific spore surface structural variations are correlated with sequence divergences in a spore core structural protein SspE.     

Physical characteristics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We examined the physical properties of the surrounding yeast cell walls by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The yeast cells were prepared on a cleaned glass substrate for confocal microscopy (CM) observation and were mechanically trapped into a porous membrane for AFM measurement. The confocal image of the yeast cells was measured in air, meanwhile the AFM topography images of the cells were measured in both deionized (DI) water (pH = 6.9) and phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS) solution (pH = 7.4). No significant differences between the AFM topography images of the yeast cells measured in DI water and in PBS solution could be inferred. In order to get the quantitative information on the sample elasticity, the force curves between an AFM tip and the yeast cell have been measured. These curves were measured in both DI water and in PBS solution on the same yeast cell using the same AFM cantilever to get the reliable result. The contact region of the force curve in approach mode was then converted into force versus indentation curve, which would be fitted with Hertz–Sneddon model for the calculation of the elasticity. Analysis of the curves indicates that there is a difference of the Young's modulus values of the yeast cell in various environments. These data show that the salt buffer solution increases the rigidity of the biological system. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.