title: Non-invasive imaging of stem cells by scanning ion conductance microscopy: future perspective.
abstract: The most valuable property of stem cells (SCs) is their potential to differentiate into many or all cell types of the body. So far, monitoring SC differentiation has only been possible after cells were fixed or destroyed during sample preparation. It is, however, important to develop nondestructive methods of monitoring SCs. Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) is a unique imaging technique that uses similar principles to the atomic force microscope, but with a pipette for the probe. This allows scanning of the surface of living cells noninvasively and enables measurement of cellular activities under more physiological conditions than is possible with other high-resolution microscopy techniques. We report here the novel use of the SICM for studying SCs to assess and monitor the status of SCs and various cell types differentiated from SCs.
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. j.gorelik@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gorelik
authors.forename: Nadire N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Siti H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Sheikh Abdul Kadir
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lab
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stojkovic
authors.forename: Lyle
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Elena V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Sviderskaya
authors.forename: Yuri A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Negulyaev
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klenerman
authors.forename: Dorothy C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Majlinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lako
authors.forename: Sian E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.forename: Miodrag
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stojkovic
authors.forename: Yuri E
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Korchev
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods*; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000473:pathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013499:Surface Properties