title: Laser microbeam targeting of single nerve axons in cell culture.
abstract: By focusing a laser with short pulses to a diffraction-limited spot, single nerve axons can be precisely targeted and injured. Subsequent repair can be analyzed using various imaging and biochemical techniques to understand the repair process. In this chapter, we will describe a robotic laser microscope system used to injure nerve axons while simultaneously observing repair using phase and fluorescence microscopy. We provide procedures for controlled laser targeting and an experimental approach for studying axonal repair in embryonic rat hippocampus neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering and Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hyun
authors.forename: Linda Z
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Berns
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000528:radiation effects; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D007834:Lasers; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods; D009417:Nerve Tissue / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009474:Neurons / Q000528:radiation effects*; D051381:Rats