Scanning ion-conductance microscopy

Scanning ion-conductance microscopy diagram.

Scanning ion-conductance microscopy (SICM) is a scanning probe microscopy technique that uses an electrode as the probe tip.[1] SICM allows for the determination of the surface topography of micrometer and even nanometer-range[2] structures in aqueous media conducting electrolytes. The samples can be hard or soft, are generally non-conducting, and the non-destructive nature of the measurement allows for the observation of living tissues and cells, and biological samples in general.

It is able to detect steep profile changes in samples[3] and can be used to map a living cell's stiffness[4] in tandem with its detailed topography, or to determine the mobility of cells during their migrations.[5]

  1. ^ Hansma PK, Drake B, Marti O, Gould SA, Prater CB (1989). "The scanning ion-conductance microscope". Science. 243 (4891): 641–3. Bibcode:1989Sci...243..641H. doi:10.1126/science.2464851. PMID 2464851.
  2. ^ Shevchuk AI, Frolenkov GI, Sánchez D, James PS, Freedman N, Lab MJ, Jones R, Klenerman D, Korchev YE (2006). "Imaging proteins in membranes of living cells by high-resolution scanning ion conductance microscopy". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 45 (14): 2212–2216. doi:10.1002/anie.200503915. PMID 16506257.
  3. ^ Rheinlaender J, Geisse NA, Proksch R, Schäffer TE (2011). "Comparison of scanning ion conductance microscopy with atomic force microscopy for cell imaging". Langmuir. 27 (2): 697–704. doi:10.1021/la103275y. PMID 21158392.
  4. ^ Clarke RW, Novak P, Zhukov A, Tyler EJ, Cano-Jaimez M, Drews A, Richards O, Volynski K, Bishop C, Klenerman D (2016). "Low Stress Ion Conductance Microscopy of Sub-Cellular Stiffness". Soft Matter. 12 (38): 7953–8. arXiv:2103.03811. Bibcode:2016SMat...12.7953C. doi:10.1039/c6sm01106c. PMC 5166566. PMID 27604678.
  5. ^ Happel, P.; Wehner, F.; Dietzel, I.D. Scanning ion conductance microscopy–a tool to investigate electrolyte-nonconductor interfaces. In Modern Research and Educational Topics in Microscopy; FORMATEX: Badajoz, Spain, 2007; pp. 968–975.