title: Use of video microscopy to study the mechanisms of cytotoxicity in vitro in individual living cells.
abstract: Recent technological innovations have made it possible to determine simultaneously multiple biochemical parameters in individual living cells. This new technique, commonly designated as video microscopy, makes use of fluorescent probes, specific for a certain cellular parameter. Cells are loaded with the probes and placed under a fluorescence microscope. After excitation at a specific wavelength the probes emit light of a longer wavelength. The intensity of the emitted light is proportional to the magnitude of the specific parameter. Emission is recorded with a video camera and the signal transferred to an image processor for extraction of quantitative data from the image, or to improve image quality. An overview of the technique itself and the necessary hardware, the major types of calculations and how to handle cells and probes is presented in this paper.
authors.affiliation: Division of Toxicology, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, Leiden University, PO Box 9503, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Nagelkerke
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: de Bont