title: Interrogation of living cells using alternating current scanning electrochemical microscopy (AC-SECM).
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Piotr M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Diakowski
authors.forename: Zhifeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D019556:COS Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004563:Electrochemistry; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate