Investigation of interactions of nano‐particles within cells using micro‐beam imaging techniques

A new approach was employed to investigate the interactions between cells and metal ions at the single cell level. Mouse macrophages were cultured and exposed to solutions with different concentrations of metals and exposure times. A focused beam from a synchrotron radiation source and an electron probe microanalyzer were used for elemental imaging of the cells. It was found that the intensity and distribution of the matrix elements in a single cell are closely related to the uptake of metals. Furthermore, the variation of the density the matrix elements and their localization in the cell are influenced by the uptake of metals. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.